As the Tears Fell
by MCRK
Summary: It was a time of friendship and love. Of untold secrets and broken promises. A tale of betrayal and loyalty. Of laughter and tears. The birth of new lives and the end of others. This is the Silver Millenium
1. Default Chapter

Sorry this part got messed up, I'll fix it eventually, I promise. It wasn't part of the story, so you aren't missing anything, it was just disclaimers and all usual ones apply. 


	2. Chapter One

Okay, just keep in mind that this was written a really really long time ago. I assure you that writing quality does improve as the story goes on. The length and depth of the story and what not increase greatly as it goes on as well. Just give it a chance for a few chapters before you decide to hate it. ( This is a Scout/General Silver Millenium fanfic, mainly featuring Rei and Jeadite. Enjoy!  
  
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter One  
  
By MCRK  
  
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"Mommmmy why do I have to meet him? He's gonna be a dork!" Princess Rei of Mars was whining to her mother about having to meet Jeadite. Victoria, Queen of Mars, sighed as she put her head in her hands while she gained strength. A moment later she raised her head and answered her daughter.  
  
"Rei, darling, Jeadite's mother is a very good friend of mine. I have not seen her in many years and that is why she is coming to visit. Seeing as you are the princess, and they are our guests, it is only polite for you to show Jeadite around out kingdom." She said gently.  
  
Rei crossed her arms in anger. "He's going to be a dork. He is going to make fun of me 'cause I am only five and he is already seven."  
  
Rei's mother looked at her sternly. "Jeadite will be a perfect gentleman I am sure. And therefore you will act like a proper young lady, which means no name calling or teasing." She said. "And do not say 'cause. Proper young ladies say because." She chided.  
  
"Don't worry. I won't be mean to him because I am not meeting him!" The princess stamped her foot stubbornly to emphasize her point.  
  
"Rei you will meet him without any complaint and that is final." Victoria said firmly.  
  
Rei pouted for a few minutes still trying to get her way. After a few minutes it was obvious to her she was going to have to meet him whether she wanted to or not. "Fine. I'll meet him but I am not going to do it happily." She said as she pouted.  
  
*********   
  
Across the galaxy, on the sun, a mother was having the same argument with her child. The only difference was that this child was a boy, and his name, Jeadite. "Awwww Mom, c'mon do I really have to go?" Jeadite complained.  
  
"Who would you stay with?" His mother asked.  
  
"I could stay by myself. I am responsible." He suggested.  
  
His mother turned to look at him with a smirk on her face. "I don't think so. You are going to have to come with me." She turned to add more clothes to the suitcase lying open on Jeadite's bed.  
  
Jeadite scowled. "How come we have to go anyway?" He asked jumping on the bed.  
  
Katherine looked up from packing to see her son bouncing on the bed. "Jeadite stop bouncing!" She scolded. "We are going to Mars because the queen is a very close friend of mine whom I have not seen in years. She has invited us to go visit so we can talk." She explained as Jeadite stopped bouncing and sat down on the bed. "And besides you should be honored, you are going to get to meet the princess of Mars. Not many people can say that." Kat said smiling.  
  
"Not many people can say that they are one of Endymion's future guards either. Doesn't that give me enough to brag about?" Jeadite asked sarcastically.  
  
Kat turned to glare at him. "You don't tell anyone that do you?" She asked suddenly worried.  
  
"Don't worry. No one else knows."  
  
"Good." His mother's usually cheery disposition returned. "And not only will you get to meet the princess, you will be with her most of our trip there." she said.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Great, so why you go talk with the queen for hours on end, I get to hang out with a girl. One who is only five years old at that!" He exclaimed.  
  
Kat gave him another look. "She may be younger then you, and she may be a girl, but I am sure the two of you will get along wonderfully. And you," Her voice suddenly changed from a soft tone to a stern one, " are going to be a gentleman to her no matter what. That means no fighting, teasing, or name calling."  
  
Jeadite made a sour face. "Fine but if I have a terrible time on mars it is going to be all your fault." "I think I will be able to find a way to live with that." Kat said wryly.  
  
*********   
  
"It's bad enough I have to spend all my time with him once he gets here, but now I have to wait here 'till he comes too?" Rei cried. "I could be waiting here all day! Please can I go play for a little while? Pleeeeeeease???" She pleaded.  
  
Victoria sighed. Fighting with a five-year-old was hopeless. Especially with one this stubborn. "Fine. You can go play for a little while, but you mustn't get dirty." She said in defeat.  
  
Rei beamed happily. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" She said happily as she turned and started to run out of the room.  
  
"I am going to summon you when they arrive." Her mother called after her.  
Rei barely heard her as she raced out of the palace and headed towards the gardens, her favorite place. 'Finally I'm free!' She though as she ran down the hill. She was so into her thoughts she did not even realize that she was about to run into a young boy at the bottom of the hill. By the time she realized what was about to happen, it was too late to stop. "WATCH OUT!!!" She screamed right before crashing into him.  
  
'This planet sucks.' Jeadite thought. 'There is no other kids here.' He had persuaded his mom to let him explore the palace grounds before they had to go meet the queen. So far though, he hadn't found much of anything.  
  
"WATCH OUT!" He heard the voice scream. He looked up as a tiny girl came flying into him knocking both of them to the ground. "Hey watch where you are going." He said irritably as he stood up and brushed himself off.  
  
"Sorry. I didn't see you." Rei apologized.  
  
"Well make sure it doesn't happen again." Jeadite snapped. She stood up eyes flashing in anger.  
  
"I said I was sorry. But you should be the one apologizing. Apparently you aren't from around here 'cause otherwise you wouldn't talk to me like that. Do you have any idea who I am?" She asked holding her head high.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Do I really care?" He asked.  
  
Rei, now infuriated, narrowed her eyes at him. "You are an inconsiderate idiotic commoner and I will not waste any more of my time with you." She flipped her hair and stormed off. As he watched her walk away Jeadite realized that even though she seemed much younger then him and she was a girl, she was the first kid he had seen on this stupid planet, so unless he wanted to play by himself, he had better apologize.  
  
"Hey wait a second," he called out, running up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her.  
  
Rei whirled around, still angry. "What do you want?" She demanded.  
  
"To apologize." He said. She looked at him expectantly. "I'm sorry about before. Can we be friends?" He asked offering his hand and an apologetic smile.  
  
She tried to continue glaring at him but found it impossible, his warm friendly smile melting her anger. Slowly she smiled back shaking his hand in agreement. "Ok friends." She agreed.  
  
"You wanna play a game?" Jeadite suggested.  
  
"You have one in mind?" Rei asked.  
  
He smiled evilly as he reached over and once again tapped her shoulder. "Tag. You're it!" He shouted as he raced away in a fit of laughter. Rei, not about to be left out of the game, started chasing after him. The two caught each other numerous times but one particular time when Jeadite was about to catch Rei, she stopped suddenly causing him to run into her. "Hey what's wrong?" He asked as he suddenly felt his mother summoning him.  
  
"I'm sorry but I have to leave now. It is very important." She explained. 'Mommy who come you had to summon me now?' She thought, 'Now I have to go meet that dork Jeadite.'  
  
"It's ok. I have to go also." He said. 'To meet that idiot princess Rei.' He silently added.  
  
"Sorry." Rei said backing away.  
  
"Wait!" Jeadite called. "What's your.name?" He realized that he was asking no one so he teleported himself to the palace. Once he appeared again he was next to his mother. The first person that he saw was Queen Victoria of Mars who he respectively bowed to. As he rose he noticed the little girl from earlier standing next to the queen. "You!" They both exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Jeadite asked.  
  
"Me? I live here. What are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
His mouth dropped open as he stared at her. 'She must be like a servant or something.' He thought sensibly. It was then that for the first time that day he noticed the fancy dress that she was wearing. 'She's too rich looking to be a servant. But that would mean.no! There is no way that that is the princess!' He assured himself.  
  
The queen, although confused about how and when the two could have met, decided this was the best time for introductions. She turned to Jeadite and his mother. "Katherine, Jeadite, I would like you to meet."  
  
Jeadite closed his eyes. 'No no no!' He thought.  
  
".my daughter, Princess Rei of Mars." She finished. Jeadite wished the floor would  
  
open and swallow him.  
  
"Rei, this is my friend Katherine, and her son Jeadite."  
  
Rei smiled politely and curtsied. "Please to meet you 'quantainces." She said softly.  
  
"Acquaintances." Victoria whispered in her ear. Rei quickly correct herself. As it finally sunk in that the little girl he had been yelling at before was the princess, Jeadite dropped down to one knee in front of her and bowed his head.  
  
"Please forgive me princess. I had not idea whom I was talking too earlier. I extend my deepest apologies." He said still down on the floor.  
  
Rei, not having had much experience in this, stood there looking helplessly while the adults chuckled slightly.  
  
Victoria took pity on her daughter and helped her out. "Jeadite you may stand." She said. "Now I am not sure what happened between the two of you, or how you even met, but I am sure that Rei forgives you." The queen assured him.  
  
Jeadite however still looked worried as he looked down at Rei.  
  
She smiled kindly at him as she reassured him, "Don't worry, I forgive you."  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief as he smiled back at the princess. 'Maybe this trip won't be so terrible after all.' He thought.  
  
"Rei since Katherine and I would like to talk, how about you show Jeadite the rest of the palace." Victoria suggested.  
  
"Ok." She said happily. Then she noticed the guards in the corner. "Do they have to come with me?" She asked in a low whisper. "They." Meaning the guards that usually were ordered to watch over the princess.  
  
"Yes sweetie. I know you don't like it very much but we need to make sure you are safe."  
  
Rei made a face. "Of fine. C'mon let's go!" She explained grabbing Jeadite's hand and dragging him away.  
  
"And to think, she was determined she was going to hate him." Victoria murmured.  
  
*********  
  
"And those are the gardens over there." Rei said pointing to a large area filled with beautiful flowers.  
  
"Wait, can we sit a minute?" Jeadite asked completely out of breath. The princess had dragged him all over the palace grounds showing him all her favorite places to go.  
  
"Sure," she said leading him over to a small stone bench where the two of them sat down. "You know, you never told me where you are from." Rei said.  
"The sun." Jeadite answered.  
  
"Wow!" Rei said impressed. "You came all the way from the sun? I've always wanted to visit there."  
  
"Don't." Jeadite said quickly. "It's not that nice there. It's very hot all the time and there is not much rain so there are no flowers are anything. It is much nicer here on Mars." He said glancing about at all the flowers.  
  
Rei beamed. "You like it here?" she asked. He nodded. 'Good. 'Cause otherwise mommy would be upset." She said frowning. Jeadite smiled at the way she talked. "How much longer are you and your mom going to be here?" She asked curiously.  
  
He shrugged, "I'm not exactly sure. I guess a few weeks cause after that I have to be back for school."  
  
"Oh right, school." Rei said unhappily. "Is this your first year going to school?" Jeadite asked her.  
  
"Yeah, but it isn't like you are thinking. It's going to start very soon, and instead of going to a regular school with other kids, I have the teachers come to the palace." She explained.  
  
He looked at her in surprise. "You don't go to a regular school?" He asked.  
  
Rei sadly shook her head. "I'm a princess 'member? Princesses don't do the same stuff as other kids."  
  
"Then.where do you meet friends and stuff?" Jeadite asked slowly. The princess said nothing as she swung her feet and looked down at her hands. "Princess?" He prompted her.  
  
"I don't really have any friends." She said softly.  
  
"How come?" He asked quietly. "Um.well.most of the other kids.they're kinda afraid of me."  
  
"Afraid? Why?" Jeadite asked, completely confused.  
  
"Before I tell you do you promise not to call me names or make fun of me?" She asked looking directly into his eyes.  
  
"I promise." He said crossing his heart with his finger.  
  
She took a deep breath and stood up. "Ok, watch." She clasped her hands together, thumbs pointed upwards and her two index fingers pointed outwards together. She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, "Mars..Fire.." She bit her lip and concentrated on gathering her strength. She shouted the last word, "IGNITE," as a small stream of fire shot out from her fingers. She cautiously opened her eyes and looked at Jeadite expecting him to look at her strangely. Instead he had a look of excitement in his eyes.  
  
"You can do that whenever you want?" He asked excitedly.  
  
Rei nodded. "My mom says that as I get older, I will be able to do more with it. You know, have more control over it and that kinda stuff." She explained.  
  
Jeadite's eyes crinkled in concentration as he thought about what Rei had just told him. Something about this wasn't right. 'Let's see. She has control over fire, she is the only one who can do this, she is the princess of Mars.' Suddenly his eyes widened as he remembered what his mom had said when she told him he was one of Endymion's guards. 'The prince of Earth and the Princess of the moon are very important people. That is why they both have four guards. For Endymion, four young boys are chosen at birth. I can't explain how they are picked, but someone from the Earth palace informed me that you were one of the four. For Serenity, the princesses from Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, are born with powers that will later allow them to protect Serenity. Mercury controls water, Venus controls love and energy, Mars controls fire, and Jupiter controls thunder and lightning. One day you will get to meet them, after everyone has been through the training. These jobs are special to the eight of you and no one else has this ability.' He almost shouted when he realized that Rei, was one of the protectors of Serenity. 'I can't believe that she doesn't know!' He thought in shock. 'She is definitely old enough to understand.' Jeadite shook these thoughts from his head as he vowed to talk to the queen later. "That is so cool!" Jeadite exclaimed as Rei tentatively sat back down on the bench.  
  
"You mean you weren't afraid?" She asked.  
  
Jeadite shook his head. "No way. I wish I could do it."  
  
If I could I would give the ability to you." Rei said quietly  
  
"How come? You don't like being able to do that?" Jeadite asked.  
  
"It's not that, it's just that it scares everyone. They all call me names, no one wants to be friends, and it makes me feel like I don't fit in." Now he was surer then ever that Rei had not been told who she really was.  
  
Jeadite was quiet for a minute, feeling sorry for the little girl and wishing he could tell her who she really was. "I'll be your friend." He said after a moment.  
  
"No you won't. You are only saying that 'cause I am the princess and your mom told you to be nice to me. I know cause my mom told me the same thing." Rei said, her voice starting to quiver slightly.  
  
"You aren't going to cry on me are you?" Jeadite asked teasingly.  
  
She forced a small smile. "I don't cry."  
  
"Good. I can't stand to see my friends cry." He said softly. She opened her mouth to object, but he stopped her. "No objections. You said yourself before when you knocked me down that we were friends. You can't back out now." He said trying to hide his smile.  
  
"So it doesn't bother you at all that I can control fire or that I am a princess?" She asked, slightly surprised.  
  
"Do you want it to?" She quickly shook her head no. "So princess, now that." Jeadite was cut off by Rei.  
  
"Could you just call me Rei? Not princess?" She asked softly. He hesitated for a second, not knowing how to answer. He knew that she preferred Rei and that as her friend that is what he should call her. But he also knew that it was improper for him to call her anything other then princess.  
  
"Please?" She pleaded sensing his hesitation. Not wanting to disappoint her, Jeadite agreed.  
  
"But if I get in trouble for not calling you princess, you have to explain." He warned her.  
  
"Deal." She agreed happily. Suddenly she felt her mother summoning her.  
  
"I have to go back now Jadite." She informed him, standing up.  
  
"It's Jeadite." He said.  
  
"What?" She asked, confused.  
  
"My name. It's not Jadite, it's Jeadite." He said gently.  
  
"Jedite?"  
  
"Jeadite."  
  
"Jedyte?"  
  
"Jeadite."  
  
Rei's brow creased in frustration. Suddenly her eyes lit up brightly. "I know! How about I call you Jed?" She asked excitedly.  
  
Jeadite thought it over and after a few minutes he smiled at the little girl. "I like it."  
  
"Good. Now we have to get ready for dinner. You have to come cause you're the guest and if we are late mommy won't be to happy." She said frowning.  
  
*********  
  
"So did you have a good time playing with Jeadite today?" Victoria questioned.  
  
Rei, who was lying in bed ready to go to sleep, smiled happily. "Yup. He is not a dork, so now we are friends."  
  
The queen smiled back. "That's wonderful sweetie."  
  
"I even showed him my fire thing and he wasn't afraid at all. He didn't make fun of me or anything." She added. The smile on the queen's face turned into a frown.  
  
"You showed him your fire?" She asked in a troubled tone.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
'Damn it!' Victoria thought. Kat had told her earlier that Jeadite was one of Endymion's future guards. 'Which means that he knows about Serenity's guards, which means he knows that Rei is one of them. I just hope he didn't tell her!' She made a mental note to talk Jeadite tomorrow.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Rei asked curiously.  
  
Her mother smiled down at her. "Don't you worry, everything is fine. And you need to get some sleep, so goodnight. Love you." She reached over and kissed Rei goodnight on the forehead.  
  
"Goodnight." She replied as she snuggled down into the blankets and fell asleep.  
  
Author's Note Time Yeah...seeing as this was written about 4 years ago, there is not much to say. Email or review please! This page and all it's contents are (c) 1999 MCRK 


	3. Chapter 2

Okay, im trying to figure out how to deal with these spaces on this, does anyone know how to fix it if I am uploading from Microsoft word so that it is more readable? Pleeeeease help if you can because it looks terrible this way! I thought html with the p/p would change it, but that didn't work too well. Anyway, thanks for the wonderful reviews! Please keep them coming! To Kayla and Miyaka, thank you so much for being such loyal readers and still sticking with me, it means a lot, I promise! And to Daria, thanks for the comments, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! Okay apparently if I hit enter three times after each line or whatever it works? I did it for the first few pages and im going upload this and see if that works before I do the whole thing.  
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter Two  
By MCRK  
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Rei was awakened the next morning by a knock at her bed room door. She wearily dragged herself out of her nice warm bed letting her lavender nightgown fall to her ankles. She walked over to the door, and while rubbing her eyes to try and wake up, she opened it to find a grinning Jeadite standing there.  
  
"Morning." He said cheerfully.  
  
"Hi." She said pushing the hair out of her face. "Can I ask why you dragged me outta," she paused to yawn, "My nice warm bed?"  
  
Jeadite gave an exasperated sigh. "If you want to waste all day sleeping go ahead. But I thought you would want to come outside and play?" He asked.  
  
Rei smiled happily. "OK you go wait outside. I gotta get dressed then I will come out too ok?"  
  
He nodded and left closing the door behind him. After getting dressed and fixing her hair Rei ran outside, only to find no one there. "Jed?" she asked cautiously.  
  
She heard something rustling in the bushes behind her and and turned around to investigate.  
  
Just as she did, Jeadite popped out and yelled, "Boo!" She screamed in shock. "Whoa calm down! Sorry I didn't think it would scare you so much." He apologized.  
  
"It's ok. I just didn't expect it that's all." She said. She smiled mischievously, "But, now it's my turn to hide. Bye." Rei waved her hand as she turned and ran off to hide.  
  
Jeadite watched her run off and groaned as he realized he had no idea where one would hide in a castle this large. 'Oh well, I'm sure I can find her, I mean how hard could it be? I might want to start counting though.' He thought. He started to shout out the numbers hoping that wherever she was, Rei would hear them.  
  
A few hours later found the two still playing outside. As the queen watched the two from inside, she realized how upset Rei was going to be when Jeadite had to leave. For some reason she never seemed to be very friendly with the other children her age, and she was going to miss having some one to play with. 'But it will be for the best. At least then I won't have to worry about him telling Rei that she is one of Serenity's court.' She reassured herself. As she looked at the clock she realized that it was time for Rei's lesson. "Charles would you go bring Rei to her lesson?" She called to one of her servants. He bowed and ran off to fetch the princess.  
  
"I'll be back after my lessons." Rei promised as she was dragged off by Charles.  
  
Jeadite wandered inside wondering what he should do while he waited for Rei, when the queen called out to him.  
  
"Jeadite would you come here for a minute? I would like to have a word with you." She asked.  
  
"Of course your majesty." He said follwing her into the throne room where she dismissed all her guards.  
  
"Is something wrong?" He asked growing uneasy.  
  
"Nothing is wrong but I wanted to talk to you about Rei." Victoria assured him. "Oh, ok." He said letting out the breath he had been holding.  
  
"I know that she showed you her fire power." She started slowly. "And I also know that you are going to be a future guard to Prince Endymion correct?"  
  
Jeadite nodded. "And to answer your next questions, yes I know Rei is one of Serenity's guards and no I have not said anything to her."  
  
The queen sighed in relief. "Jeadite, whatever you do you can not tell Rei anything about this. Not even that you are a guard. You can not mention anything about Serenity or Endymion."  
  
"You haven't told her anything at all?" Jeadite asked in disbelief.  
  
Victoria shook her head. "And she is not going to find out for a long time."  
  
"With all due respect your highness that is cruel." He said angerly.  
  
"I am sorry if you feel that way but I am her mother." Victoria exclaimed.  
  
"And I'm her friend!" He said.  
  
"Regardless of how close the two of you have grown, this is something I must forbid you to talk about." She said calmly.  
  
"And if I don't?"  
  
"You will never be allowed to contact my daughter in any way ever again."  
  
Jeadite was quiet for a moment. "You would really take away the only friend your daughter has?" Seeing the confused look on the queen's face he continued. "Apparently you don't talk to Rei very much because if you did you would easily discover that she is very lonley because all the other kids are afraid of her." "That's absurd!" Victoria exclaimed. "Why would they be afraid of Rei?"  
  
"It isn't exactly normal for a five year old to make fire appear from her hands whenever she wants you know." He explained almost smug having known this.  
  
She raised an eyebrow at Jeadite. "And telling her who she really is would change all of that?" She asked.  
  
Jeadite shook his head. "You don't uderstand. It may not change the way other kids look at her but it would change the way she looks at herself."  
  
Victoria looked at him doubtfully.  
  
He sighed in frustration. "Rei looks at herself like there is something wrong with her because she is different. She needs to know why this is happening to her and that in truth, it makes her different in the most special way possibly. She needs to have a feeling of belonging, she needs to know that there are others like her out there and that she is not alone in this."  
  
"I'm sorry but I have to disagree. Rei will find out when it is time for her to leave, when she is 12, and not a moment before. And if she does," She paused to look sternly at Jeadite, "And I find out that you told her, you will never be able to communicate with her again. Whether you are her only friend or not." Victoria said determined.  
  
Jeadite glared at her, angry about her decision. It was all he could to to remain calm and not verbally attack her. "Please forgive me if this sounds rude," He said sarcastically. "But the decision that you just made will ruin your daughter's life and you relationship with her." Not giving her a chance to respond he turned and fled the room.  
  
*Two Weeks Later*  
  
Every day for the past two weeks Jed had appeared at the princess's bed room door to wake her up, complaining that she slept to much. This morning however, Rei woke up to voices outside her door. 'I wonder what's wrong?' She thought as she listened.  
  
"Did you say goodbye to the princess yet?" Kat asked.  
  
Jeadite glanced at her door as they neared it. "No. She is still sleeping so I will talk to her when she wakes up." He said with a hint of sadness in his voice. Katherine noticed. "You two have become quite the friends."  
  
Jeadite nodded silently.  
  
She couldn't help herself as she added, "I remember someone who didn't even want to meet the princess."  
  
"Mom! Do you have to bring that up?" He asked groaning.  
  
Rei strained her ears to hear more but the two had already passed her room. 'Well I guess it's back to being by myself again.' She thought unhappily as she got out of bed and wandered to the sitting room. Once there she found Katherine, Victoria, and Jeadite all sitting on the couch. "Hi everyone." She said sitting down.  
  
Kat cleared her throat and stood up. "Vic, would you mind helping me with some last minute stuff?" She asked nodding her head to the door.  
  
"Not at all." Victoria said standing up. She shot Jeadite a warning glance who glared back at her. The two mothers then left the room leaving the two children alone.  
  
"I still say you sleep to much." Jeadite teased.  
  
"Shut up." Rei said smiling. "Well what I am going to do now that my human alarm clock is leaving?" She asked.  
  
Jeadite's face fell. "I guess you heard I have to leave huh?" She nodded. The two sat there for a few minutes in silence neither knowing what to say. "Before I go, I want you to know that you are my best friend and you always will be." Jeadite said finally.  
  
She smiled jokingly. "You gotta stop lying."  
  
"I'm not!" He protested.  
  
She just rolled her eyes. "I know it sounds weird cause I have only known you a couple of weeks, but some how you have grown really close to me."  
  
Rei looked at him, first with doubt, and then as she realized he really was telling the truth her face lit up into a smile. "Do you really mean that?" She asked.  
  
Jed rolled his eyes at her. "Of course! I don't just say that to everyone you know."  
  
"You are my best friend too."  
  
"I'm your only friend." He teased.  
  
Rei put her hands on her hips in mock anger. "Hey!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Sorry it was too tempting." He said offereing an apologetic grin. The same one he gave everytime the princess got mad at him and he wanted to get out of trouble. The problem was that they always worked, always.  
  
Rei just sighed and smiled at him. "So when exactly are you leaving?" She had barely finished asking the question when Katherine and Victoria appeared back in the room.  
  
"Jeadite, it's time to go." Kat said gently.  
  
"I guesd right now." He said answering her question.  
  
Impulsively and unexpectandly Rei threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I'm gonna miss you." She said softly.  
  
Not knowing what else to do, Jeadite awkwardly hugged her back. "I'll miss you too." He said.  
  
"Are you going to come back and visit?" She asked pulling away.  
  
Kat kneeled down next to the two and smiled kindly at the princess. "Of course Jeadite will come back and visit you. And if he doesn't, we'll make him ok?"  
  
Rei giggled at the image. "Goodbye Jed!" she called as the two got ready to transport.  
  
"Bye!" He called back. "And don't worry. I'll come back. We're best friends aren't we?"  
  
*Two Years Later*  
  
"Rei would you come here for a moment? There is something I would like to show you."  
  
Rei sighed heavily as she heard her mother call her from inside. She was now seven years old and her duties as princess were growing more and more each day. 'I wish Jed was here.' She thought wistfully. 'It's been two years since he came.' With that thought she made her way inside where her mother was waiting.  
  
"Ah, Rei there you are." Victoria exclaimed as she spotted her daughter.  
  
"You called?" Rei asked, not noticing the figure creeping up behind her holding a finger to their lips, silemtly asking the queen not to say anything.  
  
"There is someone here to see you." The queen said mysteriously.  
  
Confused, Rei looked around to see no one else in the room. Just as she was about to question it she felt a small pair of hands cover her eyes as a voice called out, "Guess  
  
Who?" Her eyes widened in suprise. She would know that voice anywhere. She gasped in delight when she whirled around and discoverd she was right. "Jed!" She shrieked happily hugging him.  
  
"Hello princess." He said cheerfully hugging her back.  
  
"You're back!" She exclaimed.  
  
"And guess what, I'm not leaving this time." Jed said excitedly. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Your mom has invited my mom and me to come live at the palace. So we moved to Mars. Suprise!" He said grinning widely.  
  
Author's note:  
  
Yeah more soon. Ahhhh and I fixed the paragraphing problem! Thank you so much to Daria, it worked wonderfully. Now this is much easier to read for everyone. I'll be updating this pretty frequently considering this story is completely done, I just have to reformat each part, so please continue reading and enjoy! This page and all it's contents are (c) 1999 MCRK 


	4. Chapter 3

part three is finally up! Sorry it took so long. Uh you know the stuff, does not belong to me, this is a silver millenium fic, the story belongs to me, and in this part new characters are introduced! Finally! The Prince, Endymion, and his guards appear in this episode. Enjoy. Comments, pekkle9983@aol.com or review please! Again thank you for all the wonderful reviews, and the great reviews on Spin Around! I have more fics like that to post as well. Anyway, this chapter is being updated so soon thanks to Daria! ^_^ I'm sorry that my site won't let you read my stories.I have NO idea why that is. I promise that I'm doing this as quickly as I can but this is the last few days of my semester/finals week so it's absolutely the most insane week of my life. I'm trying my best though!  
  
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter Two  
  
By MCRK  
  
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"This is so great!" Rei exclaimed happily. Her and Jeadite had decided to take a walk so they could catch up.  
  
"Yeah I know. It was so great of your mom to invite us." Jeadite agreed. "You know, I've been wondering about that though. Why did she invite us?" He asked looking over at Rei. 'I thought she hated me.' He silently added.  
  
"I have no clue. I thought you knew." She said.  
  
"Oh well. It's not a big deal. I'm back and that's what counts." He said.  
  
"Your still my best friend you know." She said suddenly.  
  
He smiled at her. "You are mine too." She smiled back happily. "Hey Rei, can I ask you a question?" Jeadite asked.  
  
"Yeah sure." She said shrugging.  
  
"What happened," He hesitated for a moment trying to decide whether or not he should ask.  
  
"Jed, you can ask me anything." She assured him seeing his hesitation.  
  
"What happend to your dad?" He asked softly.  
  
'Except that.' Rei thought silently as she immeaditly sat down on a small bench.  
  
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's really none of my business." Jeadite apologized softly as he sat down next to her.  
  
"No it's ok. I don't mind telling you. See when I was about four years old, he was killed by a group of angry protestors that he was trying to break up." Rei explained wiping a small tear away from her eye.  
  
Jeadite felt his heat drop. "Rei, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have--"  
  
"No really it's fine." She interupted turning away from him. From the way she was sitting, he could tell that she wasn't fine. After a moment she turnd back. "It's no big deal. It happended three years ago and I'm over it." She said her voice wavering slightly.  
  
Jeadite stood up and put an arm around her shoulder. "I know that you are trying to be all brave because last time I saw you I said how I hated to see my friends cry, and because you told me that you don't cry," He puased for a moment and smiled down at her. "But, it's ok to cry." Jeadite stood there holding the smaller girl as she did just that. (If that is a little confusing it just means she cried.)  
  
Jeadite was on his way to his room when he spotted the queen and remembered that he had wanted to talk to her. "Excuse me, your majesty?" He called.  
  
She turned around. "Oh hello Jeadite. It's nice to see you again." Victoria said.  
  
"Yes you too. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment?"  
"Of course." She said leading the way into a small sitting room where the two sat down and resumed the conversation. "I am glad you and your mom decided to except my invitation to come stay here." Victoria said.  
  
"Yes. It's nice being able to see Rei again." Jeadite said. "That is actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I know that you don't want me saying anything to Rei, so why is it that you would invite me to come live here?" He asked.  
  
The queen sighed. "I'm not really sure. I guess because I missed your mom, and I know Rei missed you, and I missed seeing her happy." She explained, then suddenly smiled.  
  
"You know the entire two years that you were gone, Rei was never truly happy. I think that is when I realized how much she meant to you, so I figured, why not have them live here? And I knew it was a risk, because I know you think Rei should be told, but I didn't want her to be so unhappy."  
He nodded in understanding. "I take it though that you still haven't told her anything?" He asked.  
  
She sighed. "I reallize that you are still determined to tell her, but I still believe it is in her best interest not to know until it is time for her to leave." Victoria explained.  
  
"How can you say that?" Jeadite asked incredously.  
  
"It's quite simple actually. Rei doesn't need her life upset by finding out that in five years she will have to leave to guard a princess she doesn't know, for the rest of her life." She said calmly.  
  
"And what happens when I have to leave in two years?" He asked.  
  
"Then, and only then, you may explain to Rei about Endymion's guards and that you are one of them. You may not tell her anything about Serenity and if you say anything, anytime before she leaves, my warning from before remains. Regardless of whether you live here, or on Earth, you will not be allowed to talk to her. And that is my final decision." The queen said standing up and leaving the room and Jeadite in his new found anger towards her.  
  
*Over the next three years*  
  
Jeadite quietly creeped into the princess' bedroom hoping no one else knew what he was doing. He crept over to her bed holding a feather in one hand. He sat down next to her bed, trying to contain his laughter, and started to lightly tickle her with the feather. She lightly started to stir, and he continued, until she opened her eyes and grabbed the feather away, causing him to start laughing.  
  
"Jed!" She cried. 'Could you please let me sleep just for once?"  
  
"Nope." Jeadite said grining.  
  
"You know, most people do need a few hours of sleep each day." Rei said sitting up.  
  
"Yeah, normal people." He replied.  
"Well, for once, could you at least wake me up in a more normal way?" She complained  
  
"Hey, I'm just going with whatever works." He said shrugging  
  
"Yeah, but I hate being tickled!" Rei exclaimed  
  
"Makes it all the more fun for me." Jeadite said laughing.  
  
"Yeah yeah yeah. Now would you leave? Since you woke me up, I would like to get dressed. I will be out in a few mintues." She said, slightly upset.  
  
"Are you mad at me now?" He asked jokingly, knowing she couldn't get mad at him.  
  
"Yes I am." She said trying to be serious.  
  
He smiled at her, with his lopsided grin, the one that always made her forgive him. Rei tried to gaze away, so if not to look, but she ended up smiling back at him. "Fine. I am no longer mad, but would you leave now so I can get changed?" She exclaimed. "I will only be a few minutes."  
  
"Yeah, sure." He said sarcastically as he walked to the door.  
  
"Hey Jed,"  
  
He turned around just as the pillow came flying at his face.  
  
Rei gingerly dipped her foot into the freezing cold pool as she looked down at the uninviting water. "Is it cold?" She asked. She looked up to see Jed's response, only to realize that he was no longer in the pool.  
  
"See for your self."  
  
She whirled around to see Jeadite grinning evilly, before she plummeted into the freezing cold water. "AHHHH!!!" She screamed once she popped up. '"It's freezing!" Rei exclaimed.  
  
"I know." Jeadite said laughing as he jumped back in the pool. "That's why I thought you might need some help getting in."  
  
"That wasn't funny!" She said splashing him.  
  
"Hey dork! Don't splash me!" He said splashing her back.  
  
"Hey, I am not a dork!" Rei exclaimed.  
  
"Fine I have come up with a new name for you. You shall now be reffered to as dorkus." Jeadite decided  
  
Rei couldn't help but laugh. "Dorkus? Where did you come up with that?" She asked.  
  
He shrugged, the grinned at her. "I don't know but it fits." He said splashing her again.  
  
"You know, I am the princess and technically I rule you, so you might want to stop splashing me." She said splashing him back.  
  
"Oh fine. Use that against me." He said.  
  
She grinned at him, then shrugged, "Hey whatever works right?"  
  
*Three years later*(AN: This is three years after Jeadite and Katherine move to Mars. Not three years after the pool incident. Jeadite is now 12, and Rei is now 10.)  
  
Rei wandered into the dining hall spotting her mother and Katherine. "Hey mom, have you seen Jed?" She asked taking an apple out of the bowl of fruit that was placed on the table. Katherine and Victoria exchanged worried glances. "Didn't Jeadite tell you?" Victoria questioned her daughter.  
  
"Tell me what?" Rei asked.  
  
"Honey, did Jeadite ever tell you that he was one of Endymion's future guards?" Kat asked. The princess thought for a minute then shook her head.  
  
"But that is such an honor." She said impressed. "What does that have to do with anything?"  
"Rei, he along with the other three guards will become full guards when they are fourteen years old. That means that to be ready by then, they have to start their training when they are twelve." Victoria told her gently.  
  
Rei's eys widened as she realized that Jed had just recently turned twelve.  
"He's leaving tomorrow."  
  
The apple fell completly unnoticed, from Rei's hand as the news sunk in. "No!" She shouted.  
  
"Rei I'm sorry but--" The queen stopped short as Rei ran off otwards Jed's room with one thought, 'He can't be leaving!'  
  
Jeadite sighed as he looked around the now bare room. 'I can't believe I am leaving tomorrow.' He thought in amazement. 'I'm excited, but I'm also kinda nervous. And I am going to miss everyone, especially Rei.' With the thought of her name he realized something. 'I haven't told Rei yet!'  
  
"How come you didn't tell me?"  
  
The voice came from the doorway and it was one he recognized well. Jeadite whirled around to see Rei standing in the doorway with a hurt expression on her face. "Oh...shit." He said trying to hide the suitcases. After a moment he just gave up and responded. "Uh hi." He said meekly.  
  
"Don't 'hi' me!" She exclaimed in sudden anger. "How come you didn't tell me?" She demanded.  
  
"Come sit down and I will explain." Jeadite said gesturing towards the bed. He shut the door and sat down next to her. "It's not that I didn't want to tell you, believe me I did, but I wasn't allowed to tell anybody." He tried to explain.  
  
"I'm not just anybody." Rei pointed out.  
  
"I know. And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, it's just that," He was about to tell her the truth when Queen Victoria's warning rang out in his mind. 'Damn you!' He silently cursed her. 'Rei is my best friend and she deserves to know. Why can't I tell her?' He knew though that he wouldn't He couldn't run the risk of never getting to see Rei again.  
  
"Will I ever see you again?" Rei asked suddenly, all her anger forgotten.  
  
He smiled at her. "I promise that you that one day we will meet again." He said thinking of the day when Endymion would finally meet the princess.  
  
"Will you write to me?" she questioned.  
  
"Of course. I'll write whenever I can as long as you promise you will right back."  
  
She nodded. "So are you excited?" She asked.  
  
All of his nervousness suddenly came back. "Kinda. But what if it's terrible? What if I don't get along with any of the other guards, or if the prince is an idiot, of if I can't do it?" Jeadite asked looking up at her with fearful eyes.  
  
Rei just smiled at rolled her eyes at him. "First off I am sure you will get along with everyone! How could they not love you? And as for the prince being an idiot, you thought I was going to be a dork too didn't you?"  
  
He smiled remembering that. "Yeah but I was right. You turned out to be a total dork." He said laughing.  
  
"Shut up! I am trying to help you here." She said throwing a pillow at him. "And as for not being able to do it, that is just a bunch of crap. You know you will be able to do whatever they ask you to so stop worrying. You are already in, now you just got to sit back and enjoy the fame." She said smiling.  
  
Jeadite stared at her pretending to be shocked. "I don't think I have ever heard you say something that made so much sense." He teased.  
  
Rei glared at him. "You know I really hate you sometimes. You can be so incredibly annoying, and yet I can never get mad at you!" She exclaimed.  
  
He just shrugged. "It's a gift."  
  
She nodded. "Yeah well I better let you finish packing. I am sure you have to a lot before you leave tomorrow." Rei said walking over to the door.  
  
"Hey Rei," Jeadite called out just before she left.  
  
She turned around,"Yeah?"  
  
"When I have to leave tomorrow, you, you'll be there right?" He asked with some hesitance in his voice.  
  
She looked over and noticed he wasn't joking and he really was worried she might not come the next day. She rolled her eyes. "Of course I will silly! Like I would really let my best friend go off to some strange planet for who knows how long without even seeing him off?" She asked.  
  
He smiled happily. "Yeah I guess your right. Now get out of my room dorkus, I gotta finish packing!"  
  
She smiled at him "You are incredibly lucky you are leaving tomorrow cause otherwise you would be dead for that!" She said as she left.  
  
Jeadite sighed. He would rather be killed by her then have to leave her and not see her again until who knows when. "Just don't forget me Rei. I will never forget you." He whispered softly then went back to his packing.  
  
Victoria, Katherine and Jeadite were all assembled in the transportation room along with a guard who was to escort Jeadite on his journey to the Earth palace.  
  
"Sir, I must request that we leave now." The guard repeated rather impatiently.  
  
"I can't leave yet. Rei still isn't here!" He cried out anxiously.  
  
"Are you sure she didn't forget?" Vicotira asked.  
  
"No way!" He said stubbornly. "Rei said she will be here and I know she will."  
  
"Jeadite, maybe she just forgot--"  
  
"Rei!" Jeadite yelled interupting his mother as he noticed Rei come flying down the hall.  
  
"I am really really sorry for keeping everyone." She said. "I kinda overslept and didn't realize how late it was."  
  
"I told you you sleep too much!" Jeadite teased.  
  
She just smiled and handed him an envelope. "Read that later ok?" He nodded and tucked it away in his backpack.  
  
She leaned over and hugged him tightly brushing away the few tears that fell down her cheek. "Goodbye Jed. I'm gonna miss you." Rei whispered.  
  
He hugged her back and whispered. "I'm gonna miss you too. But don't worry we'll see ach other again I promise. Good bye my princess. And remember we are best friends forever. That will never change." he stepped away.  
  
"Are you ready to go now?" The guard asked.  
  
Jeadite nodded as he hoisted his backpack up and stepped on th platform. He waved to everyone and as he teleported his words echoed for Rei to hear, "Bye Dorkus!"  
  
'Goodbye.' She said silently. 'Hope to see you again soon.'  
  
Jeadite appeared in what seemed to be an empty bedroom.  
  
"This will be your room." The guard said. He looked around while putting down his bags. "There will be a meeting for the guards in," The guard checked his watch before continuing. "Five minutes in the confrence room. I suggest you be there."  
  
"Wait, where is the...confrence room." Jeadite sighed realizing the guard was gone. "I guess I better start looking for the confrence room." He said as he walked out of the room and started looking around.  
  
Endymion glanced around the room seeing three othey young boys that looked about his age. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down his nerves, and started the meeting. "Hi. I guess you guys already know I am Prince Endymion, and I am assuming you are three of the four guards?" After they all nodded he continued. "I know I sound like a dork up here, but I am not used to public speaking so bare with me ok? I guess we should just start by everyone introducing themeselves so we can see who is missing."  
  
The one with shoulder length white hair went first. "I'm Kunzite."  
  
"I'm Nephrite." The next one, with long brown hair said.  
  
"And I'm Zoisite." The final one, long blonde hair, said quietly. Just as he finished the door opened. The four boys looked up to see a young boy walk in.  
  
"Jeadite I presume?" The Prince asked.  
  
He nodded as he sat down. "Sorry. I just got here a few minutes ago and it took me while to find the confrence room."  
  
Endymion smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. We just all introduced ourselves. This is Kunzite, Nephrite, and Zoisite." He said pointing to each one respectivly. "And I'm Prince Endymion."  
  
Jeadite nodded looking around the room at everyone who seemed to be very silent.  
  
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Jeadite." He said warmly.  
  
"So where is everyone from?" Zoisite asked.  
  
"Pluto, and yes it is extremly cold there." Nephrite said smiling. The others laughed.  
  
"I'm from Saturn." Kunzite said.  
  
Jeadite noted he was the first to stop laughing and become serious again. 'Kinda the silent type huh.' He thought. "I'm from Mars." He said.  
  
"Mars? That's weird. I didn't know any Martians had blond hair and light colored eyes." Nephrite said.  
  
"I'm orignally from the sun, but I moved to Mars about three years ago." Jeadite explained.  
  
"So what about you Zoisite?" Endymion asked. "Where are you from?"  
  
"Jupiter. And you may call me Zoi. All my friends, do, and I consider you all friends already." Zoisite said smiling at all of the others.  
  
Jeadite let out aa sigh of relief. "That is good to know. I was so afraid I wan't going to get along with anyone!" He exclaimed.  
  
"I know! I felt the same way." Nephrite agreed.  
  
"Well I thought the prince was gonna be totally stuck up." Kunzite said. "But it's good to know he isn't." He quickly added after seeing the look on Endymion's face.  
  
"Trust me. Royalty isn't everything it's thought to be." He assured them.  
  
"Do you really dislike it?" Zoi asked.  
  
"Well there are some good parts, but mainly it's pretty bad. The only good thing is that I get to meet you guys." Endymion said.  
  
"You may not feel that way after a few days." Jeadite said laughing. "I can assure you I have very annoying habbits. Especially if you are a late sleeper." He added thinking of all the times he had woken Rei up early in the morning.  
  
"I think we all do, but I just have a feeling that we are all going to be very good friends." Nephrite said surveying the room. The others all looked at him. "What?" He asked shrugging his shoulders. "I've seen it in the stars."  
  
A Few Days Later:  
  
Dear Jed,  
  
You haven't even left yet, and I still miss you. It's gonna be weird witbout you being here, but at least this means that I can finally sleep again! Since you are gone, I am going to sleep all day tomorrow cause no one is going to bug me to get up! Well, since you weren't suppossed to read this until you got there and met everyone, hopefully you can tell me a little bit about it. What is it like on Earth? Anything like Mars or the Sun? And what about the other three(is it three?) guards and the prince? I assume you met them so how are they? I miss you alot and I can't wait to here from you. Please write back to me soon.  
  
Love Always, Princess Rei  
  
p.s. I have sent a picture for you to have so you don't forget what I look like. Oh, and I promise my next letter will be longer!  
  
Jeadite picked up the envelope as a picture fell out. Just as he picked it up there was a knock at his door. "Come in." He called. The door opened and Nephrite walked in.  
  
"Hey watcha doing?" He asked.  
  
"Hey. Just reading a letter from a friend." Jeadite replied. Out of the other four boys, Jeadite had become closest with the prince and Nephrite. The other two seemed to keep to themselves.  
  
Nephrite looked down at the picture of Rei that Jeadite was holding. "So is that your girlfriend?" He asked.  
  
Jeadite could hardly contain his laughter. "No way! That's my best friend, also known as the princess of Mars." He said.  
  
Nephrite looked at him eyebrows raised, "You're best friend is the princess of Mars? I always heard she was incredibly strange. That she could do weird things with fire or something."  
  
"Yes, she is my best friend and there is nothing weird about her." He said defnesivly.  
  
Nephrite held up his hands in apology. "Sorry I didn't mean to make fun of her or anything." He said.  
  
Jeadite sighed. "Neph, didn't anyone ever tell you the story of Serenity and her court?" He asked.  
  
"Uh, no."  
  
"OK I am going to explain to you why Rei, Princess Mars, can control fire." Jeadite said. "You know how Prince Endymion has the four guards, Serenity has the same thing. The only difference is that her guards are the princess's of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. Each princess is born with a special elemental power that they can contorl, and can later be used to protect the princess. Rei controls fire. But you can not tell anyone that!" He exclaimed.  
  
"You know I coulda figured that out anyone by just reading the stars." Nephrite boasted.  
  
Jeadite laughed. "What is this thing with you and star reading?" He asked.  
  
"I can read the stars." He asnwered.  
  
"Well I figured out that part. But what exactly do you do? And what do they tell you?" Jeadite asked.  
  
"Sorry Jade it's too complicated for a simple minded person like you to understand." Neph said laughing, right before the pillow came flying towards his face.  
  
"So did you come in here for a purpose, or just to insult me?" He asked.  
  
"Well as much fun it is to insult you, we are suppossed to be at a training session, uh, right now." He said frowning.  
  
"Oh man! Kunzite is going to kill us." Jade mumbled as the two ran towards the practice room.  
  
"You two are late." Kunzite said as soon as they walked in.  
  
"Yeah sorry. Jade was telling me about his girlfriend." Neph said.  
  
"I am going to kill you for that." He muttered.  
Endymion came walking in, also late, hearing the last part of the others' conversation. "You do realize you are late also right?" Kunzite asked.  
  
"Yeah sorry. But who is Jade's girlfriend?" He asked. Kunz threw his hands in the air in exasperation.  
  
"I do not have a girlfriend!" Jade protested.  
  
But Nephrite was having to much fun and proceeded to tease Jade about her. "Princess Rei of Mars." Endymion started to laugh.  
  
"There...is...nothing...strange...about...her." Jade exclaimed trying to stay calm.  
  
"I don't even know what are you talking about that she would be strange. But I can't even imagene you being friends with her. She is not suppossed to be...a...um...nice person." Endymion tried to explain.  
  
"For the last time she is not my girlfriend! And she is not mean or nasty or anything like that" He exclaimed. The others all just looked at him doubtfully. "Here maybe these reasons will help convinve you. First of all she is ten years old, second of all she is my best friend, and third of all she is a princess and her mom hates me! Is that enough reasons?" Jade asked.  
  
"Wait, why does her mom hate you?" Zoisite asked.  
  
"I kinda accidently found out that Rei is one of Serenity's guardians, that is why she does that weird fire thing, and the Queen doesn't want Rei to find out until it is time for her to leave for her training. I totally disagreed with that and kinda got into a few arguments with her over it." He explained.  
  
"What is this weird fire thing you guys keep talking about?" Endymion asked. The others all stared at him.  
  
"You don't know?" Kunzite asked in amazement.  
  
"No!" The Prince cried. "Would someone please explain it?"  
  
They all turned to look at Jeadite who sighed. "She can shoot fire out from her hands."  
  
"Is that all?" Endymion asked.  
  
"Endy, what are you talking about?" Nephrite asked.  
  
"Yeah that really isn't normal you know." Zoisite said.  
  
"Well Jade said she was one of Serenity's guardians, and all of her guardians do stuff like thgat, so it explains it. Besides you guys are going to be able to do that stuff to." The others all stared at hin. "Oh I kinda forgot to tell you about that." He said sheepishly. "Jeadite I think controls fire, Nephrite does something with the stars or storms, something like that. Zoisite can control water, and Kunzite just controls energy or something like that. That's why you eight or the only people that can do this job."  
  
After a moment of silence Kunzite spoke up. "So when do we get these powers?"  
  
The prince shrugged. "I'm not really sure. All I know is that you guys were somehow born with them. I guess you get them when your training is complete."  
  
"That is so cool!" Jade exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah now you and your girlfriend will both be able to make fire appear." Endymion teased.  
  
He saighed in defeat. "Would you guys give up on that? She is not my girlfriend!" He exclaimed.  
  
"Oh yeah, then how come she signed her letter 'love'?" Nehprite asked. The others turned to look at Jeadite expectantly.  
  
Jeadite glared at him. 'You read my letter?" He asked.  
  
Neph smiled, "Only that part."  
  
Jade groaned. "I thought we were supposed to be practicing?" He asked.  
  
"Jade's right you guys. You can make fun of him later but right now we have to train." Kunzite said speaking up. Jade shot him a grateful look as the practice started.  
  
Author's Note:  
  
So what did everyone think? I really really hope you like it cause that took me a while to write. And I know that it was suppossed to be out about a week ago and I apologize but school, and extracurriclar(sp?) activities do take up time, pus my life outsid of all that. Anyway, part four is pretty long. It's about eight pages so far, and only about half done. Oh, and the entire thing consist of letters. Mainly between Jeadite and Rei but there are a few suprise letters. As I said, it's only about halfway written, may take me a while to finish, cause I alos ahve to proofread it still. maybe, two weeks? Hoping by three. Neway, w-mail and let me know what you think, comments, flames, suggestions all go to Pekkle9983@aol.com. Thanx.  
  
This page and all it's contents are (c) 1999 MCRK 


	5. Chapter 4

Okay a few quick things, thank you for the wonderful reviews, especially thank you to all the people who remember me and are glad that im back! Thanks for still reading! Please keep the reviews coming! Oh and to K. Wyse, I got really excited when I read about your site, but I went and there wasn't really anything there? Are there stories posted on that? Okay the first time that I published this chapter I got very mixed reviews, some people loved it, some people absolutely hated it so please let me know what you think. Thanks!  
  
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter Four  
By MCRK  
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Dear Rei,  
  
Hey Dorkus! Sorry it took me so long to reply to your letter but things are pretty busy over here. How are things on Mars? You are taking care of my mom for me I hope. Tell her I said hello and I'll write soon. I knew you would get mad at me if I took any longer to write this and tell you all about it here. Earth is such an amazing planet. I wish you could be here, cause you would love it. It's the perfect mixture of the Sun and Mars, both my old homes mixed into my new one. It's warm during the day, cool at night. It's perfect! There are gorgeous flowers everywhere and the entire planet is incredibly green and full of life. But I know you want to know more about the people then the planet right? Well so far everyone here is very nice. I am getting along pretty well with the Prince and the other guards. They are nicer then I expected, but also a little weirder. I'll start with Nephrite. So far I am closest to him and the Prince. Nephrite is very strange, but in a good kind of way. He does this weird thing where he can read the stars, and see the future. At least that is what he says, no one is to sure cause we can't see anything. I personally believe it isn't true, but you never can tell. Before I met you, I didn't think people could control fire either, but you proved me wrong on that so we'll see. The next guard would be Zoisite. He is nice too, but he is very quiet. He likes to keep to himself a lot, always reading some kind of science book or doing some sort of equations. He actually enjoys school and homework. A little strange in my opinion, but he is nice so it doesn't bother me that much. The last guard is kinda the leader of the rest of us. That would be Kunzite. The weirdest thing about him would have to be his hair. He has long, down to his shoulders, white hair. I don't think I have ever seen a twelve year old with natural white hair, which he assures me that it is, (natural not fake). He also keeps to himself a lot. He hangs out with Zoisite more then the others too. He is very serious and dedicated to his job. I can tell that he is going to be a good guard and is determined to make the rest of us just as good. The last person, who I know you want to hear about, is Prince Endymion. Well remember how I thought he was going to be an idiot? This time I was wrong. (With you I was right. You turned out to be a total dork.) The Prince however is actually a lot of fun. He kinda hates being royalty cause he always has to act proper. When no one else is around the two of us are usually playing practical jokes on the others. I am sure that one of these days we will get caught, but until then, it is lots of fun. I miss you though, and my mom, and if the two of you were here, everything would be perfect. I hope to hear from you soon.  
  
Love Always,  
  
Jeadite  
  
P.S. thanks for the picture. I am sending one back.  
  
Dear Jed,  
  
It's good to hear that things are going so well for you over on Earth. I miss you terribly and it would make it worse if I knew you were having a terrible time. Your mom is doing fine, she misses you too and she sends her love. As much as I do miss you, I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to sleep in the morning! I don't have to worry about being tickled awake, or getting icy cold water dumped over my head. (I know you never did that but I was always afraid you were going to do that next!) Earth sounds like a wonderful place to live! I wish I could visit, but even more so I would like to visit the moon. It's supposed to be the most beautiful place in the Universe! Do you have a good view of it from over there? I can see it slightly from Mars, but only on some nights. Most of the time I can see Earth though. It is nice being able to see it so I know where you are. The rest of the guards and the prince sound very nice. I am sure the five of you will be good friends for a long time. Well, I guess you have to, your job protecting the prince will last all your lives won't it? It's no surprise that you get along with the prince though, you two sound exactedly alike. You're always joking around, annoying every one else, and yet it's impossible to get mad at you. I assume Prince Endymion is the same way. You said you don't talk as much with Zoisite and Kunzite right? That's kinda understandable. My mom would love the two of them. She is always making me study, trying to make sure I do good in school. And she is always showing me some new thing that I have to learn in order to be a proper princess. Endymion is right, being royalty can majorly suck at times. Sometimes I feel like my entire life centers around teas, and wearing dresses, and learning to speak and walk properly, and all that other princess stuff. I'm still ten years old, and yet I never get time to just go outside and play. It was always different when you were there. You could usually convince my mom to let me skip out on studies or something. Now though, it's training all the time. The only training I want to do, is learn to fight. I mean, if I get attacked, what am I supposed to do just scream? That would suck, so I need to be able to protect myself, but I don't think that is going to happen. I better go my mom is calling me for dinner and if I'm late she gonna get mad. Please write back soon.  
Love Always,  
Rei  
  
Dear Rei,  
I can't understand why Zoi,(Zoisite) likes school so much. We just started over here and it's terrible. Our day starts out with practice, then school, then practice, then homework, free time, then we are supposed to go to sleep. It's a good thing I got used to getting such little sleep, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to take it. Like right now, I am supposed to be sleeping, but I would rather be writing to you anyway. I mean the only point of sleeping is so I can get up tomorrow to go to school and see my witch of a teacher. She is such a bad teacher, I don't know what possessed her to become one in the first place. She hates most of us, well 'cept for Zoisite and Kunzite, (it is just the five of us in the class) but that is only cause they suck up! Ok truthfully she only hates us because we are always fooling around, but we can't help it! The classes are incredibly boring. I know how much you hate having to be tutored and would much rather go to a regular school, but trust me you are so lucky. I know I don't really go to a regular school because there is only four other kids in my class, but still it is in a school building and there are other classes there that go on all day and everything like a normal school. But still, if we had individual tutors, then if they were nasty, we could just fire them. (Do you get to do that if you don't like your teachers?) That would be nice. Just choose who I wanted. I do understand though why you hate it. It must get kinda lonely. I think you should try and talk your mom into letting you go to a normal school. Then you could just be tutored on being a princess, or whatever it is you need to learn to do that. She might agree to it, you never know. Besides it's not like your five years old anymore, I don't think anyone will bother you about your fire thing. And if they do let me know, I will come back and beat them up for you ok? All right well that is enough about school. I spend too much time on school every day I need to change the topic. Everything else over here is going pretty good. Training is hard, and we do it often. A lot of times it is incredibly hard and I always thing I can't do it, and then I remember how you told me I can do whatever they ask me to. I know this sounds corny so please don't repeat it to anyone? But it's nice to know you still believe in me, even if no one else does, I know you will. You are my best friend in the entire universe and I just wanted you to know that. I miss you a lot and I hope I can see you soon. Oh! I almost forgot. Don't worry about your training to be a princess. I know it's get depressing and you don't like it, but when it's all over you can do whatever you want whenever you want, cause then you'll be Queen. I know that it's hard, and I know your mom is a pain(Sorry but she is) but try and hang in there ok? If for nothing else then do it for me ok? I believe in you and I know you can do this. I will always be there for you, and I will always be on your side.  
Love always,  
Jeadite  
  
Dear Jed,  
(Do you mind if I still call you that?) I am really sorry it took me so long to write back to your last letter. Yes if I don't like my tutors I do have the power to fire them and get a different one. But that changed, because my mom decided to let me go to a regular school!!!! No more tutors!!!!! Isn't that wonderful? I finally get to go to school like everyone else. I took your advice, and talked to my mom, and amazingly, it worked. I am so grateful to you I can't thank you enough. Now I finally understand what you are talking about when you say how terrible school is. It is kinda bad, but I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be with everyone else. They all see me as a normal kid now and no one bothers me. And, now that I am in school for most of the day, my mom has lessened up on how much I have to learn, royalty stuff wise. Everything is working out perfectly now, thank you so much. My teacher is pretty nice, but maybe that's cause I am the Princess, but either way she is still nice. I feel terrible for your teacher! Having just the five of you in class must drive her insane. Well at least she has Zoisite and Kunzite to pay attention. I take it you other three usually have no idea what is going on? Poor teacher! I hope you are being nice to her though and not playing any of your tricks on her. Putting up with you during class must be bad enough. The least you could do is attempt to b nice to her, I mean how bad could she really be? I need to go now cause I gotta go do homework and stuff. I miss you lots and hope to hear from you soon.  
Love Always,  
Rei  
  
Dear Rei,  
I am sending you another letter along with this one, to respond to things you wrote about in your last letter. But this letter, is being written for a very important reason. Happy Birthday! I know that when you read this it won't exactly be your birthday, but I still have to wish you a happy birthday. You are now eleven, so how do you like it? Not much different from being ten I bet right? Now you are starting to catch up to me! By the way, I have a gift for you, and I will give it to you next time I see you. I would mail it to you, but I want to give it to you in person And even if I don't get to see you until after your next birthday, I will hold on to it, along with next years. I wanted more then anything to come visit for your birthday, but unfortunately I couldn't get away. I'm sorry. I really wanted to see you again, seeing as it's been a year already, and I have only been able to talk to you through letters. Tell everyone I said hello and I miss them. I miss you the most, but they don't have to know that! Happy Birthday!  
Love Always,  
Jeadite  
  
Dear Rei,  
Here is my second letter, as promised. (By the way if this is the first letter you took out of the envelope, stop reading this, and read the other one first ok?) Anyway, I am so happy for you! I can't believe you are finally going to a regular school. I am really glad that you decided to talk to your mom. I think that was a wise choice, and look it worked right? I bet that after a few months though you will be begging to go back to being tutored. School is not all that great as I am sure you can tell from my letters. I hate to make this so short, but I really got to go. I have training in a few minutes and it would help if I was on time. I have been here for almost a year already, so you think they would loosen up on being on time. But instead they have gotten stricter. Actually it's just Kunzite. Endymion doesn't mind that much if we are a few minutes late, seeing as he is usually the last one there anyway! Oh, and of course you can still call me Jed. Truthfully, I won't let anyone else call me that because you call me it. It makes me think of Mars too much, so everyone else calls me Jade or Jeadite. You can continue with whatever one you want. Well I do have to go, but I miss you lots, and I promise I will write again soon.  
Love Always,  
Jeadite  
  
Dear Jeadite,  
Thanks for the birthday letter. It was nice of you to send, seeing as you don't have that much time on your hands anymore, but I do appreciate the letters you send, regardless of how long they are. About getting me a present, please don't! You would not believe what I am going through over here all because I get one year older. My mom is throwing this huge party and inviting all these people that I have never met. The worst part is I have to attend the party, talk to everyone and pretend to be interested. The only way it would be interesting is if you were there. (Which I know can't happen. Don't feel guilty, I understand) But she is making such a big thing about it, you would think I am never going to have another birthday. I'm sorry. I keep bothering you with all my problems, when I am sure you have plenty of your own. I doubt you need to hear me complaining about being a princess and everything. Anyway, on to another happier subject, ........HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Did you think I would forget? Course not, you don't forget your best friend's birthday. I am sending a card separately. but I'm not sure when that will get there and I didn't want you to think I forgot. You are getting old, thirteen! Well, since you had the psychotic idea to get me a gift, and hold onto it until I see you again, I will do the same for you ok? Let's make a pact, that no matter how long it takes we will continue to write, and talk to each other, even though I know it is entirely possible that we may never see each other again. I gotta sign off here, mother is calling me again! (I think I have to go learn how to balance a book on my head or something. I mean, who really cares anyway?) So I will write later k? Miss you.  
Love Always,  
Rei  
  
Dear Rei,  
Are you ok? Is anything bothering you, cause you sound weird. I mean since when has it bothered me if you complain about stuff? That's why I'm here. For you to tell me what bugging you and stuff. It was kinda weird to read your letter and hear you sound so depressing. You are usually waaaay more perky then that. At least when I talk to you. And where did you suddenly come up with the idea that we are never going to see each other again?! Of course we are. Even though my job is a life time thing, we are allowed to leave the planet to visit friends and family. I just haven't yet because I am still in training and it doesn't help to miss sessions. But did you really expect the prince to not allow us to ever see our family again? Don't worry, I promised you that we would meet again and I always keep my promises, especially ones to you. So please, just tell me if something is bothering you ok? You usually don't feel weird about telling me about that kinda stuff. Anyway, about your birthday, don't worry about it. I know how tough and annoying it must be for you to have to go through that, but just hang in there. How long could it possibly last, I mean your birthday is only one day you know? I know that my letters keep getting shorter and shorter and I am really sorry it's just I don't have as much time as I used to . More letters to come soon, I promise. Miss you tons.  
Love Always,  
Jeadite  
  
Dear Jed,  
  
I know I have been acting strange, sorry about that. And since you are really the only person I can talk to, especially about stuff like this, so I will explain. I am getting really really worried that something is wrong, and I think it has to do with me. It's the weirdest thing. Like first, there was the thing where my mom threw me that huge birthday party, almost like I won't be here next year to have one. And you know my mom, she hates having those parties. I mean in the three years you lived with us did my mom ever throw me a huge birthday inviting hundreds of people? And lately she has been acting all distant towards me. Every time we talk, she gets all emotional and starts to cry. Then there is the problem with always hearing my name. I'll be walking down the hall, and about to go into a room where my mom and someone else will be. And I'll hear them talking, and I'll hear my name. But then as soon as I go in the room, the conversation automatically stops, and everyone gives me these fake smiles like nothing is wrong. I don't know what to do anymore! I am starting to get scared because I know that whatever it is, it has something to do with me. I have tried talking to my mom, and asking her if something is wrong and everything, but she just assures me that everything is fine and that I am worrying myself over absolutely nothing. But if it is nothing, why is it that no one will tell me what is going on? And why does everyone stop talking when I walk in the room? Jed, I am really really scared, and I don't know what to do anymore. I am afraid that something terrible is going to happen. Please tell me what you think on this.  
Love Always,  
Rei  
P.S. It's times like these that I really miss you.  
  
Dear Rei,  
Thank you for telling me what was wrong. It's terrible that you have been carrying that around, without telling anyone! I really am shocked at what is happening to you. I am not even sure of what to tell you. You are right though, your mom does hate parties, and she wouldn't throw such a big one if something wasn't wrong. But I'm not trying to scare you. I mean for all you know everyone at the palace is planning some big surprise for you. (trust me, if they are, I am not in on it so I can't guarantee that. Sorry) Please don't immediately think the worst. I know it's hard to think anything other then the worst, but if you don't try, you are going to worry yourself sick, and I don't think that will help all that much either. I wish I could be there right now to help you through all this. Plus, I would probably be able to figure out what is going on by bugging your mom. She usually gives in after I do that for a while. How is everything else going though? Hopefully that is the only thing wrong right? If this really starts to bother you, or something else does too, try to get your mind off it ok? Just try and pick up a new hobby, or read more often, do whatever it takes, but just try and keep your mind off it. If it was something incredibly serious, like if you were dying(j/k), don't you think someone would let you know? I'm sure it is just some surprise or something. So please try not to worry? And please, if this continues, or gets worse, let me know. I may not be able to be there to comfort you in person but I can still write letters, regardless of how busy I am. I can always make time for you.  
Love Always,  
Jeadite  
P.S. At times like these I miss you a lot too. :)  
  
Dear Queen Victoria,  
Before I go into how angry I am, I might want to let you know that this is Jeadite, Rei's friend, writing to you on behalf of Rei. By the way she doesn't know about this and I doubt you would want to tell her, especially because of the topic of this letter.  
  
I can not believe that you would put your daughter through such torture! And that is what it is, torture, whether you want to admit it or not. I know that you don't want Rei to know about her being a guardian, until it is time for her to leave next year. And as much as I disagree with that, I'm not even going to say much about it. I realize your decision, and although I do hate it, I also understand. What I don't understand is why you are doing this to Rei? She knows that something is wrong. Apparently you aren't as subtle as you think, because not only has she figured out that something is wrong, and that it has to do with her, she is scared to death because of it. She wrote me a letter, and if she was talking to me in person she would have been sobbing, about how scared she is and she doesn't know what to do. She hears her name in a conversation, walks into the room, and all talking stops. You burst into tears every time she tries to talk to you. And the worst one, you are throwing her a huge party for her birthday! I mean, come on your majesty, she is not stupid. First of all, we all know how much you hate big parties, so why throw one for her now, for her eleventh birthday? It isn't and important age, and you wouldn't be doing it unless something was wrong. Second of all, you rarely ever cry, especially not just from talking to Rei. And if you are going to talk about her, do it when she is asleep, and do a better job of hiding it. you can't continue to do this for the rest of the year until she leaves. I understand you are going to miss her, and you are upset and trying to do everything with her, but you need to be more subtle! Let's face it, you were never the kind of mom who did everything with her daughter. I am not saying you were a bad mom, but you can't change that now. You are confusing Rei and that scares her and it's cruel to do. Please, either tell her the truth, or completely drop it. Don't act like there is nothing wrong.  
Sincerely,  
Jeadite  
  
Dear Jeadite,  
You know, I never realized how much you cared about my daughter until I received your letter. I still feel the same way, that Rei shouldn't be told yet, and wile I still think that, I am finally understanding your reason. Your letter opened my mind to a lot of things. You were completely right when you said that I was never the kind of mother who spends every moment with their child, and knows everything about them. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I really don't know much about Rei. And I realize, that maybe she should have been told when she was younger, but I was and still am so afraid to lose her. She is my only child, and the only real family I have. After my husband died six years ago, (I assume Rei told you about that.) she is the only one I have. And even though I have to, I don't want o give her up. Which is why I have been doing what I have. I realize that I have offended you because I have been scaring Rei, and I apologize for that. As odd as it may sound, I really didn't notice that it was bothering her. She never lets on about things like that, so I just assume she doesn't notice. I do feel terrible though for doing that to her and I want to thank you for letting me know that she felt that way. At times I feel you are closer to Rei then I am, and I often need others to let me know how she feels. While I can promise you that I will make things go back to normal, I can't promise I am going to tell Rei. I know I should, but I don' want to lose her. All I have is one year left with her, and then she will be gone forever. And if you ask me, I always found that kind of unfair. Rei, and the other three girls are princesses too, so why is it that they are destined to risk their lives, simply to protect another princess? It just never made much sense o me, they deserve to be protected to right? Anyway, thank you again for showing concern for my daughter, I know I never liked you very much, but Rei is lucky to have you as a best friend.  
Sincerely,  
Queen Victoria  
  
Dear Queen Victoria,  
I just wanted to thank you for the kind response you sent to my letter. I understand the way you feel a lot more now, and I thank you for explaining it to me. I can see how hard it is to let you daughter go like that and I am sorry I was never more understanding. Oh and don't worry about protecting Rei. I may be sworn to protect the Prince, but I have always sworn to myself that I would protect Rei from harm, or die trying.  
Sincerely,  
Jeadite  
P.S. Thank you for your comment about Rei being lucky to have me as a friend. That meant a lot to me.  
  
Dear Jed,  
I am sooooo sorry that I have not written in a few months. it's just been kinda crazy (And kinda scary) with all this stuff that has been going on with my mom. I mean every time I turned around I was either helping decide things about the party, hearing my name whispered amongst everyone, or having an emotional talk with my mom where she would always end up crying, but never telling me anything. Well, I am glad to say that the insanity is finally over. I decided to try and talk to my mom one more time, and it worked! She apologized for upsetting me and getting me nervous, but she explained that nothing was wrong in the first place. She wasn't even sure why she had been acting like she was but she guessed it was some sort of mid life crisis thing, (whatever that is). She had suddenly felt the urge to throw a huge party, and seeing as my birthday was the nearest occasion, I became victim to the insanity. Truthfully though, the party wasn't all that bad. I mean I didn't really have fun (I never want to do that again!) but other then your absence, everything else was pretty ok. It was the preparing that made me insane. Everyone was trying to keep me busy, and make sure that I liked it so they would ask me the same questions a million times over, I think they were afraid of getting fired. Do I really appear mean and stuff? I wouldn't fire them cause I didn't like the party; I was planning on hating anyway. And the other thing that was really bothering me, how I would hear my name being whispered, I discovered what that was about to. Well, it turns out you were right, my mom has been planning a surprise. My mom has invited my grandparents, (Her parents) who live on Mercury, to come and visit! They moved from mars about a year before I was born, so if I have ever met them, I don't have any remembrance of it. SO you can see why I am so excited. I think they are coming next week, and I will be sure to let you know what happens k?  
I know that our past few letters have been centered completely on me and my problems and I wanted to thank you for talking about it with me. It really did help. And I am sure there are things you want to tell me? (I hope) seeing as you have been gone for a year now, can you believe that?, I want to know who everything is going! I hope your training is going well. Once you get through all that I know you are going to make a wonderful guard. Miss you, write soon.  
Love Always,  
Rei  
P.S. Thanks for all your help and support through that stuff with my mom. There was no way I could have gotten through it without you.  
  
Dear Rei,  
See! I told you everything would work out fine, and it did right? See you should listen to my advice more often...ok on second thought, maybe you are better off not listening to my advice, it doesn't always make too much sense. Anyway, I am really happy for you though that everything is back to normal. See no more huge birthday party you have to go to. Course, I would have come if possible. Even though you said it was kinda boring, I think it would have been fun. And not cause I would cause trouble, it would just be fun. It's really cool that your grandparents are coming to visit! I can just imagine how excited you are. You better make sure though that you learn to get up earlier, old people tend to be up earlier in the morning. This is going to sound really really strange, but I need your advice on something. And before you start getting mad at me, its the topic I need advice on that is strange, not the fact that I am asking you for advice ok? All right, this is really strange, but I need advice on girls. Seeing as you are on, I figured you must know something about that right? See there is this girl, Sarah, who I kinda have a crush on. But see the problem is that I have no idea what to do about it! I'd ask her out except I have no idea if she even knows who I am, and I really don't fee; like being humiliated. And even if she said yes, where am I supposed to take her? What are we gonna talk about? What if she hates me? I can't believe I am asking you this cause I am sure you are laughing at me right now, but I need help, so please? Miss you tons, and am in dire need of your advice. Write back soon ok?  
Love Always,  
Jeadite  
  
Dear Jed,  
Even though you are on a totally different planet, you still find ways to tease me don't you? Well whatever. So you need advice on girls huh? This is actually pretty funny and yes I was laughing when I read your letter. You are so psychotic it's a little scary! You are waaaay to hyped up over this. First of all, if she doesn't know who you are, then the first thing you need to do is introduce yourself to her! Try and get over your raging hormones here for a minute and try and use a little common sense k? However it is you know her, school or whatever, just say hi next time you see her. If she says hi back, and smiles, introduce yourself. If she continues the conversation with enthusiasm, then she likes you, and you should ask her out. As on where to go, go to the movies or something. And just ask questions about her, and find something common. That will give you something to talk about. And don't worry over this. I am sure she will like you, Just cause you are incredibly annoying and psychotic doesn't give her any reason not to and I am sure I am helping a lot aren't I? So follow my advice and see how it goes ok? Write me back about this! Miss you.  
Love Always,  
Rei  
P.S. Don't ask how I know all this, it's just a natural thing, and I hope it helps.  
  
Dear Rei,  
This is so amazing. Do you realize that I have been gone for two years already? That means that it's your birthday already again! Happy Birthday! I am cutting this letter short, cause I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday separately, but I have so much incredible new to tell you. Miss you tons, can't wait to see you, happy birthday!  
Love Always,  
Jeadite  
P.S. I have a gift for you.  
  
Dear Rei,  
Ok second letter. First of all, I took your advice, and it worked! So I am now going out with this girl I know Sarah, and I can't tell you how grateful I am for your help. I'll be sure to remember you in the future whenever I need advice. The other incredible thing that happened, is this. As I mentioned before, I have been training on Earth for two years already, which means that the main part of my training is over! I am now officially one of Endymion's guards! Not only that, but apparently all my hard work has paid off, we had this test kinda thing, for placement. Kunzite is first guard, (Obviously) which means he is the leader of the rest of us. Then shockingly, I placed as second place guard! Can you believe it?! This has been the best week of my life. Then there is Nephlite placing third, and Zoisite placing fourth. The only bad thing about all this is that you aren't here. Miss you lots and hope to see you soon.  
Love Always,  
Jeadite  
  
Dear Jed,  
Congrats! That is wonderful news, I am so proud of you, especially for placing second. I know you worked hard, and you deserve it. I am sure you will do a wonderful job. But, as happy as I am for you, my entire life has just been flipped upside. My mom just informed me, about two days after my birthday, that I am a guard for Princess Serenity of the Moon!!! I am sure you know the story, seeing as you are Endymion's guards, but the way she explained it was that there is a princess from each planet, all of whom have special powers. Mercury can control water, Venus controls love and energy, Jupiter controls lightning, and as you already know, I control fire. So I finally discovered why I am so different and abnormal. Why I can make fire appear from my hands. My entire childhood (other then having you there) was hell because of the damn fire that I have. And all of this is so I can protect a princess?! Come on what kind of sense does that make. This Moon Princess' protectors are all princesses themselves aren't they? So what is so important about her that makes us have to abandon our lives, our homes and our families, just to make sure she doesn't get killed? Maybe it's just me but it sounds unfair, and doesn't make too much sense. I would ask my mom more about it but I am not talking to her ever again. I have been able to control fire since I was four years old, and she waited until I was twelve to tell me! I endured teasing, mocking, loneliness, and people being afraid of me. And all the while I had absolutely no idea why I was different. My entire life I have lived differently, and not even because I am the princess of mars. Because my mom wouldn't explain to her daughter why she could do things with fire. You were the only friend I ever had due to this stupid thing. I realize that knowing why I had this power wouldn't have stopped it from happening, but it sure would have changed the way I looked at myself. Well, it's changing my life once again, I'm packing to leave for the moon in about a week. I have my training to begin now. Well at least I will get to visit the Moon like I have always wanted. The only good things that I can find in this entire thing, is that my mom told me in a few years, after Serenity's guards' training is complete, the Prince and his guards(you) come to the moon to meet the Princess and her guards(me) so I will be able to see you again. That, and the fact that at least I won't be the odd one anymore. At least the others will be able to do the same things I will.  
Write back soon. Miss you lots.  
Love Always,  
Rei So what did everyone think of chapter 4? Please let me know! Your comments are so helpful and I will respond to them all. Send comments, flames, or suggestions to Pekkle9983@aol.com. The next part may not be out for a while, I only have like three paragraphs written. Slight writers block. (Not sure what I want to happen.) But I will try to get it out within a month from now at the absolute latest, so please look for it. The next part, as I said before, the other scouts will finally appear in. As it says in Rei's last letter to Jed, she finally discovers she is a scout, so the next part will be her going to the moon, meeting everyone and starting her training. Not sure what else, cause I realy don't know what I want to happen yet. They will probably be the normal age, (Scouts=17 Generals=19) in part six. Part six through the end will probably be the best. That will be when everyone meets and falls in love and all that. Anyway, send commetns. Bai. This page and all it's contents are (c) 1999 MCRK The phrase that is being used as the title is from the song, Miss You Like Crazy, by, The Moffatts. All rights reserved. 


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry for the lack of updates, finals and moving out of my form and finding a summer job kinda had to take priority. Expect updates a bit more frequently, at least for now. Anyway, thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews! Please keep reviewing!  
  
Daria: Thanks for all the reviews! I promise I will eventually read your stories and return the favor.  
  
Joanna: Yes after eight million years I have returned once again. ( Thanks for sticking through it forever and still reading.  
  
K-Wyse: Thanks for clearing that up, I love the website either way, another thing to add to the to do list is joining. And im working on the format, I thought I had fixed it, sorry!  
  
Charlie Chaplin 2: Heeeey!!! Wow I haven't talked to you in the longest time! I'm glad you remember me and my stories, thank you for coming back and reading again! By the way, I read *your* stories, which I never knew existed, and I looooved it. I promise a review soon!  
  
And yes for all those wondering, this is also pekkle, some of my stories are posted under moonromance under that name. So, here is the next chapter, all disclaimers apply, please review or email me, pekkle9983@aol.com Enjoy!  
  
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter Five  
  
By MCRK  
  
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"Rei honey, can I talk to you for a minute?" The question fell flat and no response was made. Queen Victoria lingered in the doorway of her daughter's bedroom and continued. "I realize that I should have told you sooner, but I did have my reasons for waiting this long."  
  
Rei continued moving about the room, packing most of her things into boxes and suitcases, all the while not responding to her pleading mother.  
  
"And I know you are angry at me, and I'm sorry but-"  
  
This time she responded. "ANGRY?!" She exclaimed. "Angry does not even begin to describe what I feel towards you right now."  
  
Victoria tried again. "Look at it from my point of view. You are the only family I had left. I was afraid if I told you, it would be like I was losing you sooner, and I didn't want to do that. "  
  
Rei slowly turned around until she was face to face with her her mother. "Your point of view?" She asked, trying to remain calm. "What about MY point of view. I am the one who has lived my entire life thinking there was something wrong with me."  
  
"Nothing was wrong with you because of your power. It made you special." Her mother tried to explain.  
  
"Oh I see now. It made me special huh? Well I wouldn't have known about that seeing as you never told me why I could control fire!" Rei yelled. "I can't even tell you what I went through when I was younger. From the time I first realized what I could do, when I was about three years old, till now, I have been teased, mocked, tormented, and disrespected, by just about everyone on this damn planet! I mean I had absolutly no one on my side. Didn't you ever wonder why I didn't have friends?"  
  
"I just assumed it was because you were perfectly happy being by yourself." Victoria stammered.  
  
"Being by myself?" Rei asked incredously. "Mom, I was five years old, do you know how I felt? Up until the time I met Jeadite, and ever after that, I felt like there was something wrong with me. How come I could do this weird thing that no one else could? Why was it that I had to be different then everyone else? I scared them for God's sake! Do you have any idea what that is like?"  
  
"No. I don't. But Rei, you still were always happy when you were younger, and what about Jeadite? You were good friends with him." Victoria said.  
  
"Jeadite was and still is my best and only friend. And that is only because he was kind enough to look past my stupid powers. But you know what? I really wish that I had never been born the Princess of Mars, and I wish that I had never gained these stupid powers. Now if you will excuse me I am leaving tomorrow and I still have lot to do." Rei fled the room leaving her mother standing there in tears.  
  
"I'm so sorry Rei. I'm so sorry." She whispered to herself.  
  
Moments after Rei arrived on the moon, a young girl that looked about her age, with a strange hairstyle, came running up to her.  
  
"Hi!" The girl said, her voice a happy bubbly kind of voice.  
  
"Hi." Rei said, her voice somewhat lacking in enthusiasm.  
  
The girl studied her for a moment then said, "Are you Princess of Mars? Rei right?"  
  
"Yeah, that's me. How'd you-"  
  
"How did I know? It's a gift." The girl said interupting Rei's question. "But right now I am sure you want to put your stuff down some where right?" After recieving a nod, she continued. "Just follow me, I will help you to your room, and then you can come meet everyone else."  
  
"How many others are there?" Rei asked as they started to walk through the palace.  
  
"Let's see, there is you, Princess Ami of Mercury, Princess Makoto of Jupiter, and Princess Minako of Venus, so that makes five all together."  
  
The two reached a large bedroom where Rei put her things down. "Will I meet Princess Serenity at the meeting?" She asked, looking around the room.  
  
The girl laughed. "Silly. You already met her!" Seeing the suprised look on the other girl's face, she stuck out her hand and introduced herself. "Princess Serenity, welcome to the moon."  
  
***  
  
"Enymon! Enymon! Where you going?" The young voice cried out.  
  
Endymion smiled and turned around as his little sister ran into his arms. "Hey Terra. I'm going to see Jade, Neph, Zoi, and Kunz. We have a training session."  
  
"Please, please please can I come?" She pleaded.  
  
"Sure, why not?" He asked.  
  
"Thank you!" Terra yelled hugging him.  
  
"Come on, we're gonna be late." He said putting her down and taking hold of her hand.  
  
Terra, also known as the Earth Princess, was Endymion's younger sister, and had been a complete suprise to everyone else. She was about four years old and the cutest little girl you could imagine. The two siblings were incredibly close, and were usually found together.  
  
Endymion and Terra walked onto the training grounds to see everyone else already there.  
  
"Hey guys, sorry we are late. Terra wanted to come along." Endymion explained.  
  
"No problem." Jade said.  
  
"Jade!" Terra yelled running over to him.  
  
"Hey there. I haven't see you in what, an hour?" He asked smiling. Terra was as close to Jade as she was to Endy, and he considered her to be his little sister also.  
  
"Endy let me come to watch you guys while you practice." She said happily.  
  
"I know, pretty exciting huh?" He asked.  
  
She nodded and tugged on his shirt so he kneeled down to her level. After she looked around to make sure the others were busy getting ready, she whispered to him, "And today, you guys are all gonna get your special powers."  
  
***  
  
"Hey guys." Serenity said as her and Rei walked into a room where there were three other girls waiting.  
  
"Hey Serin, took you long enough." One said.  
  
"Serin?" Rei questioned.  
  
"My nickname. We've all met before today." Serenity explained.  
  
"Oh." Rei said sitting down at the table along with everyone else. "So you guys have all known each other a while?" She asked.  
  
Another one of the girls answered. "Yes, we all met earlier on and we have been visiting together the past few years."  
  
"Yeah, why is it that you never came...um...what was you name again?" The third one asked,  
  
"Oh! I forgot to introduce everyone! Sorry! Serin cried. "That is Makoto, Ami and Minako, also known as the Princesses of Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus." She said, pointing first to the one with brown hair, then the girl with blue hair, and last the one with blonde hair. "Everyone, this is Rei, Princess of Mars."  
  
"So Rei, why is it that you never came?" Makoto asked.  
  
"It's a long story, and I would rather not get into it." She said quietly.  
  
The others all exchanged glances, but decided it was best left alone. "So...what can you control?" Serenity asked.  
  
Rei looked at her in suprise. "What do you mean, 'What can I control?' Do you mean there are other people that can do that?"  
  
The other girls laughed, but seeing Rei's embarresment they stopped and explained. "All of us, minus Serenity, can control one of the elemtents." Ami explained. "That is why we were all chosen to protect the moon princess. I can control water."  
  
"I control lightning." Makoto said.  
  
"And I control the wicked cool power of love." Minako said giggling.  
  
"Ok. I understand now. I control fire, and it is so cool to know that I am not the only one that can do that." Rei said in relief. "But, what happens if the princess is attacked and none of us can get there, how does she protect herself?"  
  
"Well, we kinda have to make sure we can get there--but if no one can, or until we get there, Serin does have the power of the moon and she can transform also." Makoto said.  
  
"Transform?" Rei asked in confusion.  
  
Once again the other started to giggle. "You don't know much about this job do you?" The princess asked giggling.  
  
Blushing once again, she shook her head.  
  
"See, it might scare people, if we just started using our powers, so we need to transform, so we can use them." Minako said.  
  
"We have wands, you'll get yours later, and we just hold them up, and shout something. I shout Jupiter power, and then I become Sailor Jupiter. Since you are the Pincess of Mars, you will shout Mars Power, and become Sailor Mars. Get it?" Makoto asked.  
  
Rei just looked at her in complete confusion.  
  
"Don't worry Rei. We'll demonstrate later, you'll get it then." Serenity said.  
  
'Thank you Princess." Rei said.  
  
Serenity scrunched up her face in disgust. "Please please please, just call me Serin or Serenity? All my other friends do. I hate Princess!" She excaimed.  
  
Rei smiled inwardly, knowing exactly how she felt. "That depends, do you consider me a friend?" She asked.  
  
Serin smiled at her. "Course I do. We all do already." She said as the others nodded.  
  
This time, she was smiling on the outside as Rei said, "Well then, Serin, how about you guys do this demonstration for me?" It felt good to have real friends.  
  
***  
  
Dear Jed,  
  
I love it here! Everything about the moon, it's just the best place. I met Serenity, Makoto, Ami, and Minako today. Serenity is the Moon Princess, Makoto is the princess of Jupiter, Ami is the princess of Mercury, and Minako is the princess of Venus. The best part is, that I am finally not the only person that controls one of the elements. Everyone else, minus Serin(Serenity) controls something. Things are still a little confusing, 'cause thanks to my mom, I am the only one who hadn't met everyone before, so I am still learning what we do and everything. And I am already good friends with all of them, espeically Serin. She is so happy and has such an enthusiasm for life, a little too perky sometimes, but she is really nice. I haven't gotten to know everyone else quite so well yet, but so far, the five of us get along very well. Well, I know this must be an incredibly boring letter, seeing as I am sure you know all of this already, so I will sign off here. Miss you lots.  
  
Love Always,  
  
Rei  
  
P.S. I am never speaking to my mother again.  
  
***  
  
The next morning Rei awoke and looked around the room, unsure of where she was at first. Then she remembered the events of the past few days and realized she was in her new room, on the moon. Not knowing exactly what was suppossed to happen each day, she dressed and wandered out into the hallway. In her search for the Princess or one of the others, she ran into Princess Serenity, who was talking to someone that looked a lot like her. "Oh, gomen. I was just looking for Serenity." Rei said apologizing as she backed away.  
  
The older woman smiled kindly at her. "It's quite alright dear. Please, do come in." Rei stpeed shyly into the room. "I have been meaning to meet with you. I apologize for not being able to greet you yesterday. I had...other matters to attend to." She said.  
  
"Don't worry about it." Rei said, looking towards Serin for help.  
  
"Rei, I'd like you to meet my mom, Queen Serenity." Serin said proudly.  
  
Rei gasped. "Oh! I am so sorry I didn't recognize you and for not addressing you correctly your majesty. Gomen Nasai I feel terrible and--" She blurted out.  
  
"Rei, Rei, calm down. As I said before it is quite alright." QSerenity said. "And you on't need to address me so formally. After all, you are royalty yourself are you not? And I think of all of Serin's guards as my own daughters. And now that you are here, and we have met, you are included in that."  
  
Rei smiled. "I'd like that. Thank you."  
  
"Now, I believe you needed to talk to my daughter?" She questioned  
  
"Oh, well that was just because I wasn't sure what happens each day, and where we go and things like that."  
  
"Well, I am sure that Serin will be happy to answer all your questions, as I need to attend to other things." The Queen said.  
  
Serin smiled happily at Rei as the two left the room to talk. "So what do you need to know?" Serin asked her.  
  
"Just what basically happens each day." She said.  
  
"Oh, that's easy enough. Well we usually end up all meeting at breakfast, and then we will meet a short while later for practice. Thn we usually have studies, taught by Ami, she's a major genius, then pretty much whatever we want. It's pretty relaxed." Serenity explained.  
  
"Sounds simple enough." Rei said smiling.  
  
"Hey Rei, can I ask you a question?" She asked, jumping in front of her to stop their movement.  
  
"Sure what's up?"  
  
"I know you said you didn't really want to get into it, but why is it that you never came before hand. You know to meet everyone else?" The princess asked curiously.  
  
"I never knew that I was a guard for you." Rei said slowly.  
  
"Silly! How could you no have known?" She asked.  
  
"Well see, when I was about three years old, I discovered that I could control fire and stuff. But my mom never told me why I could. She never told me anything about you or any of this. So I never came." She explained.  
  
"Oh, Rei! That's terrible!" Serin cried.  
  
"Yeah, but whatever. I take it you don't like to see people unhappy?" She asked laughing.  
  
Serin smiled back. "No one is allowed to be unhappy and stay unhappy while in my presence. That is my only rule."  
  
"I like that rule." Rei said as the two resumed walking. "Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Of course." She said.  
  
"Why is it that you are so nice to me?" Rei asked looking over at the other girl.  
  
Serin looked at her in suprise. "Why not?" she asked.  
  
"Well, it's just that before I came here, I never really had any friends. Well, except for my best friend Jeadite, I was pretty much alone, because of my fire thing." Rei explained.  
  
"Well, you don't have to worry about that here. We'll be the bestest of friends." She said smiling.  
  
"I'd like that." Rei said smiling back.  
  
"So tell me. What is Mars like, is it a fun place to live?" Serin asked excitredly.  
  
Rei laughed, and thought back on all the crazy things her and Jed had done. "Well, when you had a best friend as psychotic as mine, things were pretty fun."`  
  
***  
  
For the millionth time that morning that girls burst into laughter. "I can not believe that you guys did that!" Makoto exclaimed once she calmed down.  
  
"He sounds so incredibly pyschotic!" Mina said laughing.  
  
"How adorable is that?" Serin asked.  
  
The five girls had been talking all morning. Happily laying in the sun, they were telling each other for their lives before the moon, and Rei had just shared a numerous amount of stories of the crazy things her and Jed had done.  
  
"Yeah. He was pretty crazy, but we had tons of fun. But I haven't seen him in two years, and I miss him a lot." Rei said, smiling sadly. The other all exchanged looks.  
  
"Awwww, Rei's got a boyfriend!" Serin teased.  
  
"He is not my boyfriend!" Rei said in suprise.  
  
"Uh huh sure." Minako said rolling her eyes.  
  
"He's not!" She protested.  
  
"I hate to interupt this conversation, but I think it's time for us to start our training for the day." Ami said.  
  
"Yes, I think it is. Besides you guys still have to explain this transforming thing." Rei said shooting a grateful look towars Ami who smiled back. Grumbling the others stood and headed for the training grounds.  
  
"Ok let's show Rei how we do this." Makoto said once they were all out there.  
  
"First, you gotta take out your pen." Minako instructed.  
  
"Where do I keep it though? Do I just carry it aound in my pocket?" Rei asked in confusion.  
  
"When you have finished using the pen it automatically knows that you are done, therefore transporting intself into a nonviewable seemingly non existent inter dimensional pocket." Ami explained.  
  
"Don't mind Ami. She's a certified genius and sometimes she gets out of hand with her scientific terms." Serin said. "All she means is that once you are done, your pen will slip into some weird pocket. It seems like it vanishes into thin air, but whenever you need it, it will be there."  
  
Rei nodded, understanding a little better.  
  
"OK, so now, after you take out your pen, you shout the name of your planet and then power." Makoto informed her.  
  
"We'll demonstrate." Minako said and held up her pen as she shouted, "VENUS POWER." As Rei watched in awe, swirls of golden ribbon and hearts wound their way around Minako. Within minutes she was dressed in a white bodysuit with a very short orange skirt attached. Ath the back waist and front collar there was a orange bow, and a small golden tiara encircled her forehead.  
  
"My turn. JUPITER STAR POWER!" Once again Rei watched as Makoto was encased in electric bolts, shooting up around her arms, legs, and torso. When her transformation was complete her uniform looked similar to Minako's, ecxept where Minako's was orange, her's was green. She watched once more as Ami went, this time there was water, and her outfit was blue.  
  
"Now it's your turn Rei." Serin said handing her a red pen with the symbol of mars at the top.  
  
She nervously grasped into hjer hand, held it high in the air as she shouted "MARS STAR POWER!" Rei felt an incredible rush of energy and heat and she noticed that her entire body as being encircled by flames. Within moments it was over and she was Rei. Except now she had on a red uniform, similar to the others. "That was so awesome!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Now you gotta learn how to use your powers." Makoto said.  
  
"Learn?" She asked.  
  
"Yes. You must learn how to harness your fire and how and went to call on it." Ami explained.  
  
Rei felt relief wash over her. "Oh that's easy. " She said. "I know how to do that already. Watch." She closed her eyes in concentration, and the other's watched as she placed her hands together, her thumb and forefinger pointint out as she shouted," Mars...Fire...IGNITE!" as a small stream of fire shot out form her fingertips. Rei opened her eyes to find the other's all staring at her in awe.  
  
"How did you know how to do that?" Mianko asked wide-eyed.  
  
"I don't know, I just kinda knew. I've been able to do it since I was like three or something." She responded shrugging."I wanna see what you guys do though." She said.  
  
The five girls continued to practice as Queen Serenity watched from inside her palace. Luna, one of her trusted advisors, softly padded over to the window to see what she was looking at. She noticed the queen watched Princess Rei more then anyone else. "She is getting along quite well." She said softly.  
  
The queen starteld, turned to see who had spoken. She smiled when she saw it was Luna. "Yes. She is."  
  
"Might I ask what is troubling you then?" Luna asked.  
  
"It's just that I think she would have been better off if she had been able to come earlier. I know she is fitting in now and everything, but it would have been easier to adjust if she had known about it ahead of time." The Queen said sighing. Luna was silent waiting for her to continue. "I am just so mad at Victoria for not allowing her to come. And not only was Rei not allowed to come, she never knew about it. And I think that's just cruel. The poor child went through her childhood with one friend, all because her mother was too stubborn to tell her why she could control fire."  
  
"Maybe she was just afraid to lose the only family she had left." Luna said quietly.  
  
Serenity turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well her husband was gone. Who did she really have other than Rei? I would have been reluctant to give her up to." She explained.  
  
"She had me!" Serenity said, almost hurt. "I'm her family too! But she jsut shut me out, like everyone else. If she had just allowed Rei to at least know, I could have been there for her more often. She's my baby sister for God's sake!" She exclaimed.  
  
"I take it Rei doesn't know that you and her mother are sisters? Or that her and Serin are cousins?" Luna questioned.  
  
"Of course not Luna." Serenity said looking out the window at the girls once again. "Serin doesn't even know. And I didn't keep it a secret from her because Victoria asked me to. The hell with what she asks me to do. I only kept it from her because I found it unfair to tell her all about her cousin, and then not allow her to meet her. I will hopefully be able to tell them both soon though." She said. "It's just so strange you know? I mean to me, Rei is like my own daughter. And even though she is my niece, I have only met her earlier today." Luna quietly sat on the window sill as the two watched the girls fooling around happily. "Things used to be so simple." Serenity said sighing once more.  
  
***  
  
"Hey Serin, whatcha doing?" Rei asked plopping down next to her.  
  
Princess Serenity looked up from what she was doing. "Hey Rei. I am just looking through my mom's wedding pictures." She said.  
  
"Mind if I look with you?" Rei asked.  
  
"Course not." She answered, turning the page. "Weren't the dresses pretty?" She asked.  
  
Rei however wasn't listening. There was a person in a few of the pictures that had caught her eye. "Who is that?" She asked.  
  
Serin looked over where she was pointing. "Oh, she was my mom's maid of honor."  
  
"No I mean who is it?" Rei questioned again.  
  
"My mom's sister. I think her name was Victoria. I never met her though, she died before I was born." Serin explained giving Rei a weird look.  
  
"She's not dead." Rei said.  
  
"Oh really and how do you know that?" Serin asked laughing.  
  
"That's my mom."  
  
***  
  
Jade's eyes widened. They had been hearing about these powers they were supposed to get, for the past two years, but they never got them. "Are you sure?" He whispered back.  
  
Terra nodded excitedly.  
  
"Hey Jade, do you plan on coming some time today?" Kunzite called overe to him.  
  
"Oh sorry. Just talking to Terra." He said jogging over to where the others had gathered.  
  
"I have an announcment to make to you guys." Endymion said. "Today, you guys are finally able to use your powers."  
  
Comotion broke out amongst them.  
  
"Our powers? What powers do we each have?"  
  
"You mean we get to control water and stuff like that now?"  
  
"This is gonna be awesome!"  
  
"As if we don't have enough training problems already, right?"  
  
"And I get to watch the whole time!"  
  
They all turned to look at the face that had spoken last, and started laughing.  
  
"I think Terra is more excited then we are." Neph said.  
  
"Yeah, cause I know all bout it. I know who controls what, and now I get to see it finally!" She said.  
  
"What do we control?" Zoi asked.  
  
Endymion jsut sighed trowing his hands in the air. Sometimes bringing Terra along wasn't the best of ideas.  
  
"Ummm....let me think a minute......k got em. You get to control icy stuff and water." She said pointing to Zoisite. "And you get to control the winds, and the weather." She said pointing to Nephlite. "And Kunz gets to control...um...i don't really know what it is, you just control energy kinda things. And Jade," She said, smiling at him. "Gets to control fire...just like his girlfriend." She added giggling.  
  
"You're gonna pay for that." He muttered.  
  
"So how do we use these powers?" Zoi asked, turning back to Endymion.  
  
"You just gotta conentrate, I mean really really concentrate, and focus all your energy towards your aura. Then words, will just like, come to you, and as you shout them out, your attack is being used." He explained.  
  
The others all looked at him, doubtfully. "I am serious!" He exclaimed. "Try it."  
  
They all stood there quietly for a few minutes, focusing their energy like they had learned to do during their previous training. Jade was about to complain that nothing was happening when he suddenly felt a surge of energy go through him as he shouted out, "Phoneix Fire...ENGULF!" As a large ball of fire shot out from his hands.  
  
It was followed by two columns of freezing ice water that came from Zoisite.  
  
"Ocean Winds...ENCASE!" Signaled Nephlite had launched his attack.  
  
Kunzite's however was silent, and they suddenly just saw a burts of energy shoot from his hadns.  
  
"So so so so so so cool!" Terra squealed jumping up and down.  
  
"So, now do you believe me?" Endymion asked grinning.  
  
***  
  
"That's your mom? Are you sure?" Serin whispered.  
  
Rei nodded silently.  
  
"Come on." She said suddenly jumping up, taking Rei and the book with her.  
  
'Where are we going?" Rei asked running after her.  
  
"To find my mom."  
  
The two girls found Queeen Serenity in her office reading over some papers. She looked up when they ran in.  
  
"He mom can we talk to you for a minute?" Serin asked.  
  
"Of course. What do you need to talk to me about?" She asked putting down the papers.  
  
"Aunt Victoria."  
  
The color drained form the Queen's face as she looked back and forth at the two girls in silence. "So you know huh?" She asked.  
  
"Not really. We were just looking through your wedding pictures, and when I asked who someone was, Serin said it was her Aunt Victoria, your sister. But she's also my mom." Rei explained  
  
Serenity sighed. "I guess it's about time the two of you knew. Why don't you girls have a seat and I'll tell you the whole story." The two sat down and waited expectantly. "Rei, when your mom told you that you were one of Serenity's guards, did she tell you why she had waited so long to tell you?"  
  
Rei nodded. "She gave me some stupid reason about how I was all she had left, and she didn't want to lose me any sooner then she had to."  
  
The Queen nodded. "You aren't the only family she has left. If you two haven't figured it out yet, Rei's mother and I are sisters, which makes the two of you cousins." The two gasped in delight as they looked at each other and smiled. "I figured you would be happy about that. Anyway, there is a reason why neither of you knew about it."  
  
"It better be a good one." Serin said angerily.  
  
"Victoria is my younger sister, and I got married before she did. And as you know, she was my maid of honor at my wedding. We were always so close. After that though, she got married to the Prince of Mars, and she moved there. She did see you though Serin, she made sure to make the marriage after you were born." The Queen said smiling at her daughter. "So she got married, and had Rei. And we never got much of a chance to see each other. Maybe once, when you were both under a year old. But I didn't see her again until the funerals of both our husbands." She said a tear coming ot her eye which she quickly wiped away. "It is always hard losing a loved one, but it is especially hard when it is your mate. And it takes most people a long time to get over that. I was no exception. But I was eventually able to get on with my life."  
  
"My mother never did." Rei said softly. The others turned to look at her. "She never said anything to me about it, but I could tell. She cried a lot, and she was just a different person after my dad died."  
  
"You're right Rei. She was a different person. You became the only person that could get close to her. She wouldn't even let me get close to her anymore. And then when she found out that she would have to give you up also, she went hysterical. She was so terrified to lose you, that she forbid you from ever knowing anything about me, or Serin, or the moon." Serenity explained. "I pleaded with her to tell you, but she is incredibly stubborn. That is why you never knew any of that."  
  
"How come you never told me though?" Serin asked.  
  
"I didn't think it was fair to tell you all about a cousin and aunt that you wouldn't be able to meet. It seemed cruel, almost like I was torturing you with it and I didn't want to do that. I'm sorry though for not telling you." She said.  
  
Serin hopped out of her chair and ran to her mother to hug her. "Don't worry about it."  
  
As Rei watched the two of them, she was suprised to find her self feeling jealous.  
  
"Now that that is all cleared up I am going to play. Wanna come Rei?" She asked  
  
"In a minute." Rei said.  
  
"Ok." Serin said running off.  
  
"Did you want to ask me something?" Serenity asked the girl.  
  
"My mom," Rei hesitated for a minute, "She wasn't always such an uhappy person was she?" She asked softly.  
  
The Queen smiled gently. "Of course not. She was one of the happiest people. She was alsways full of life, and excited about everything. And when she met your father, she was the happiest person I have ever seen. They were perfect for each other. And then when she had you, she felt her life was completly perfect. She loved the two of you to bits and I know she has never stopped. Is that what you wanted to know?" She asked.  
  
Rei nodded. "I think so. Thank you." She said as she turned to leave.  
  
"And Rei," Serenity called. She turned around.  
  
"Just remember, if you ever want to talk, I'm here for you." She said.  
  
Rei smiled. "Thanks," She paused then right before running out the door to find her new found cousin, she added, "Aunt Serenity."  
  
***  
  
Translations:  
  
Gomen: I'm sorry  
  
Gomen Nasai: Very sorry, very formal.  
  
And that's the end of that chapter. Things will finally start picking up from here, the scouts and generals will be the right age and everyone will meet soon. Please review if you haven't already or email me, thank you! Again sorry for the delay, updating for this story at least will definitely pick up from here. 


	7. Chapter 6

Sorry.this would have been out much sooner but my computer has had a huge number of problems with ffnet lately for whatever reason. Everyone is at the normal age in this one, the senshi are around 17 and the generals are 19. Enjoy and review please!  
  
******************************  
  
As the Tears Fell ~ Chapter Six  
  
By MCRK  
  
******************************  
  
"Minna, I just heard the best new!" The four girls looked up as Serin ran into the sitting room her face flushed with excitement.  
  
"So what's the news?" Makoto asked.  
  
"I just heard from my mom, that in two weeks, Prince Endymion and his court are coming to the moon to visit!" She exclaimed excitedly. Everything was quiet for another moment when all five of them screamed and started talking all at once.  
  
"Are you serious?" Rei asked.  
  
"I heard they are all really hot." Makoto said dreamily.  
  
"I wonder how intelligent the people from Earth are?" Ami asked thoughtfully.  
  
"This is so wicked cool!" Minako exclaimed.  
  
"Would you guys shut up so I can tell you the rest?" Serin yelled. They stopped talking instantly. She smiled. "That's better. Now they are coming in two weeks, for um something, kinda forgot that part. Anyway, while they are here, we are supposed to be like their tour guides or something. And they are staying for two months or so."  
  
"Is the Earth princess coming along also?" Ami asked.  
  
"Ami who cares about her, we get to be tour guides for five really hot guys!" Minako exclaimed.  
  
The others all rolled their eyes. "No I think the Princess Terra is staying on Earth." Serin said, answering Ami's question.  
  
Rei's eyes widened as she realized who the guards were. "Serin, you said all four guards and the prince are coming right?" She asked smiling.  
  
Serin looked over at her cousin, and realizing what she was thinking, smiled back. "Yes, meaning that he will be there."  
  
The others looked back and forth between the two, trying to figure out what was going on. The two girls had grown so incredibly close over the years, they seemed to have developed some sort of telepathic link, and with Rei's spiritual expertise, it was quite possibly true. The link was actually helpful, and allowed them to know when the other was in trouble. It usually drove the others crazy though.  
  
"Who is going to be there?" Makoto asked impatiently.  
  
"Jed!" Rei exclaimed happily.  
  
"Oh so we finally get to see your boyfriend huh?" Minako asked.  
  
"He isn't my boyfriend." She said rolling her eyes.  
  
"It's nice that you get to see someone you haven't seen in a long time." Ami said.  
  
"A long time? I haven't seen him in seven years!" Rei exclaimed.  
  
"And he could be totally hot, and then the two of you could fall for each other and would get married and everyone would all be happy." Serin said.  
  
"Yeah sure. The chances of that happening are like the chances of Ami being interested in guys. No offense Ames of course." Rei said.  
  
She smiled. "None taken."  
  
"How long are they staying for again?" Makoto asked.  
  
"I think my mom said for about two months." Serin responded.  
  
"Well as excited as I am, and as much as I would love to keep talking about this, I have some stuff to do. I'll talk to you guys later." Makoto said as she left.  
  
"Same here. Jaa mata." Minako said as she walked away.  
  
"I am falling behind in my studies; I need to go catch up." Ami said hurrying away.  
  
"I suppose you are going to desert me also?" Serin asked Rei.  
  
"Course not. I'm not about to desert my best friend when there are hot guys to discuss!" She said laughing.  
  
"You know, I still think that it would be perfect if you and Jed fell for each other. You would have been best friends for years, and then separated, your only contact through letters. Then when you meet again years later, you realize how perfect you are for each other and you fall in love and you live together happily ever after." Serin said getting all starry eyed.  
  
Rei burst into laughter. "You are too romantic for your own good! That is never going to happen. We are best friends, nothing more."  
  
"Yeah sure." She said. "Just wait and see."  
  
"Well you know Serin, the prince is supposed to be pretty hot too." Rei said nudging her knowingly.  
  
She blushed. "Shut up Rei!"  
  
Rei shrugged. "I just think it would work out perfectly. The Princess of the Moon and the Prince of Earth, it's like fated for the two of you to fall in love. Now that would be a perfect match. It would unite the kingdoms, and well it just works out perfectly."  
  
"You sound like my mom." Serin groaned.  
  
"Is she forcing you into a marriage?" Rei asked in surprise.  
  
"Not exactly. But I know she wants me to fall for Prince Endon, or whatever his name is."  
  
"Endymion." Rei corrected gently. "And don't hate him until you meet him."  
  
"Isn't that what you did when you had to meet Jed?" Serin teased.  
  
"Hey I was like 5 years old! But he did end up being my best friend." She pointed out.  
  
"I thought I was your best friend?"  
  
"OK, he is my best friend that is a guy how's that?" Rei asked.  
  
"That's because he is your only guy friend who you haven't dated." Serin said laughing.  
  
"So. There's nothing wrong with that." She said her eyes twinkling with laughter. "But I'm serious about not hating the Prince yet. For all you know he could be perfect, the man of your dreams."  
  
"And if Endymion can be so perfect for me, how come Jed can't be perfect for you?" Serin asked slyly.  
  
"Well...because...he's just not. It doesn't work. He is a civilian from the sun, I'm a Martian Princess. Besides we're best friends."  
  
"You never know. Sometimes the perfect person is the one you least expect."  
  
******************  
  
As soon as Endymion walked into the room Jade immediately started asking questions. "Is it true? Are we really going to the moon? And are we finally meeting the Princess and her court? And are--"  
  
"Jade, slow down. Who told you all that anyway?" Endymion asked.  
  
Jade smiled. "Terra."  
  
Endy groaned. "I told my parents they shouldn't have told her yet."  
  
"So it's true?"  
  
"Yes it s true. We are going to the moon to meet the princess and her court. But what are you so excited about?"  
  
Jade just smiled happily thinking of someone.  
  
Endymion slapped himself on the head. "Oh right you get to see your girlfriend again, I forgot."  
  
Jade rolled his eyes. "Don't you guys ever get sick of that? It is kinda old. You have been bothering me about it for the better part of the past seven years; do you really still believe she is my girlfriend?"  
  
"No. But it is still fun to make fun of you. Come on, I have to go tell everyone else what Terra already hasn't." Endy said smiling as he walked down the hall. Jade ran to catch up to him and the two walked in to the usual meeting room to find everyone waiting for them. Endymion waited for the bombard of questions....that never came.  
  
"Terra didn't tell you guys?" He asked in surprise.  
  
"She told us you had some big, exciting announcement you had to tell us but then she wouldn't tell us what it was." Zoisite explained.  
  
Jeadite smirked at them. "Ha, she told me already."  
  
"Jade, why is it that Terra will always tell you, and not the rest of us?" Kunzite asked.  
  
"I don't know. She just tells me things." He said shrugging.  
  
"Aww, I think she has a crush on Jade." Neph teased.  
  
"Uh, yeah sure Neph. Whatever." Jade said.  
  
"So what is this announcement Endy?" Zoi asked impatiently.  
  
"Well you know how Princess Serenity has the four guards too?" He started. The others all nodded and he continued. "Well they finally finished their training, and they all have their placements and everything, and the Queen has decided that it is time for the Earth Prince and his court, meaning us, to meet the Moon Princess and her court. Meaning, we are going to the moon."  
  
***************************  
  
Serin ran into Rei's room to find her reading over old letters from Jeadite.  
  
"You miss him a lot don't you?" She asked softly.  
  
Rei looked up in surprise, having not noticed that anyone else had come into the room. "Oh hey." She said when she saw it was Serin. "And yeah I do. But I will get to see him soon so I am really excited."  
  
"How long have you two known each other?" Serin asked.  
  
"Ummm, I think 12 years."  
  
"So come on, how did you meet?" She asked smiling.  
  
"I kinda ran into him and knocked him over." Rei said sheepishly.  
  
"Are you serious?" She asked laughing.  
  
Rei nodded. "See his mom and my mom were really good friends. But Jeadite's mother had moved to the sun many years before, because she was getting married. And they didn't see each other again until seven years later. And I was five, I think, and Jed was 7, and we were both outside playing before we had to meet each other. And I ran down the hill not noticing him, and I just kinda knocked him over."  
  
"So then what happened?" Serin asked.  
  
"Well he yelled at me for knocking him down, but then we apologized, and we played like tag or something. Then we were both summoned by our mothers. So we separately went back to the palace, and were extremely surprised to see the other one there. See, neither of us had wanted to meet, because we both thought the other was going to be a dork." Rei said laughing.  
  
"But you ended up being best friends."  
  
"Right. But when Jed saw that the person he had been yelling at before, was really the Princess of Mars, he like flipped out. Looking back it was really funny. He was like bowing and started apologizing like crazy, until he was sure I had forgiven him."  
  
Serin started laughing. "I can't believe he did!" She said.  
  
"So anyway, somehow after that we became inseparable. Until he left about two weeks later of course. He went back to the sun and I didn't hear from him again until two years later, when my mom invited him and his mom to come live at the palace with us. Ever since my dad has died, she was really lonely and she missed Kat, Jed's mom, a lot, so they came back. And we were still just as close, until he turned 12, and I was time for him to train to be a guard of Endymion's. And that was the last time I saw him, when he was 12 and I was 10." Rei explained.  
  
"Oh, so you guys got a big happy reunion thing coming up huh?" Serin said. "And seeing as you haven't seen him in what seven years? Do you know how hot he could be?" She exclaimed.  
  
"Ren!" She exclaimed, using the special nickname the two had for each other.  
  
"But he could be really really hot Rei!" Serin protested.  
  
"If you are so sure he is going to be so hot, then why don't you go for him?" Rei asked in exasperation.  
  
"Who says I won't?" She asked slyly. "Just joking. I gotta leave him for you. I am determined to get the two of you together. Besides, according to you the prince is pretty hot."  
  
"That's what I hear." Rei said. "Guess we will just have to wait and see ne?"  
  
***********************  
  
"We are going to the moon?" Zoi asked finally.  
  
Endymion nodded. "We leave in two weeks; we will be there for about two months."  
  
"What exactly is this trip for? I assume it must have some reason." Kunzite asked.  
  
"My mom and Queen Serenity just want for the Princess and I to meet, so that perhaps we can make the bond stronger between the two kingdoms." He explained.  
  
The others all smiled realizing that the two Queens were really trying to get their children to fall in love, and get married, therefore strengthening the bond.  
  
"So do we get to meet all the scouts and everything?" Neph asked.  
  
"They are going to be like our tour guides or something I think. And we will be training with them while we are there. That way if the Dark Kingdom was ever to attack, we all know how to work together in case stronger actions needed to be taken." Endy said.  
  
"Is Terra coming with us?" Jade asked.  
  
Endy shook his head.  
  
"Isn't she kinda pissed about that?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah but what can she really do about it? Besides she is only 9, she's still a little kid."  
  
The others were all silent for a moment. "You know, I hear that Princess Serenity is supposed to be pretty hot Endy." Neph said smiling slyly.  
  
"Are you guys planning on trying to get the two of us together and eventually get married?" He asked.  
  
"You do have to marry a princess." Kunz said.  
  
"Yeah, but they are all princesses." Jade added.  
  
"That's true. And I heard they are all supposed to be good looking." Zoi said.  
  
The others all turned to stare at him. "What?" He asked blushing.  
  
"Ohhh, is Zoey taking an interest in girls?" Endy teased.  
  
"I do like things other then books ya know." He defended.  
  
"We know, but it's still fun to bug you." Jade said.  
  
"Yeah, just like it is fun to bug Jade about his girlfriend, who he finally gets to see again." Neph said grinning.  
  
"You know, she could be really hot by now." Endymion said just coming to the realization.  
  
"Yeah when was the last time you saw her?" Nephlite asked.  
  
"Seven years ago. Why?" Jade asked suspiciously.  
  
"Yeah see, a lot happens in seven years. She could be really really gorgeous." Endy said.  
  
"Then why don't you guys go for her?" Jade snapped.  
  
"Cause she's your girlfriend." Neph said.  
  
Jade groaned and looked towards the other two for help. "A little help here guys?" He asked  
  
"Why don't we all start packing? Two weeks will be here before we know it." Kunz said standing up.  
  
"But we were having so much fun teasing Jade and--" Neph stopped in mid sentence at the glare Kunzite gave him. "Ok Ok we are going." He said leaving the room; the others trailed behind.  
  
Two Weeks Later  
  
"Hey Serin do you know when the Prince is going to get here?" Minako asked.  
  
"No, but I hope it's soon. I am really nervous about meeting them. This is my first real time meeting other royalty; you know where I have to follow protocol and everything." She said nervously.  
  
Rei smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll do fine."  
  
Suddenly Ami gasped looking up from her mini computer. "Guys we've got a monster attack!"  
  
"There have been a lot of those lately. I hope it isn't going to amount to anything to serious." Makoto said frowning.  
  
"Uh more bad news guys. The guards just sent a message that they captured a few people and they are in need of our assistance." Ami said.  
  
"Ok here is the plan. The guard situation seems to be more under control, so we will need more people fighting the monster attack. Rei why don't you go down and help the guards, and Makoto, Ami, and I will go fight the youma." Minako said all business like.  
  
"I'm going with Rei." Serin said.  
  
"You are staying here, where it is safe." Minako said.  
  
"But what if Rei needs help? Or if someone attacks here?" She said logically.  
  
"She's right you know." Rei said.  
  
Minako sighed. "Fine, just let's get going ok?"  
  
"VENUS POWER"  
  
"JUPITER POWER"  
  
"MERCURY POWER"  
  
"MARS POWER"  
  
"MOON PRISM POWER"  
  
Mars and Moon ran off in one direction and the others went in the opposite direction.  
  
"You stay back and keep yourself out of sight unless I need your help." Mars instructed.  
  
"I know I know. I will only help if you get stuck." Moon said rolling her eyes.  
  
Mars noticed. "I'm sorry, but we have to keep you safe. That's our job."  
  
"Yeah well I don't want my best friend getting herself killed."  
  
"Don't worry. I don't plan on dying for quite some time." By that time the two had reached the gate. There were five men against the gate with their backs towards the scouts. The two guards were busy yelling at them and didn't notice the presence of the scouts. "Now, make yourself scarce, I can handle this." Mars said.  
  
Moon nodded and moved out of sight. 'Uh, excuse me." Mars called out, receiving no answer. She tried once again but again with no result. 'Time to take drastic measures.' She thought. "Mars...Fire...IGNITE!" She yelled sending a small stream of fire to the side of one of the guards. Everyone stopped talking. The five men at the gate all jumped at the sound, and one of them gasped in shock.  
  
Jade's eyes widened as he heard the attack being called out. There was only one person he knew of that was able to do that. "Hey dorkus," He called out happily, back still to her. "Would you mind telling these nice guards here that we are not intruders, we are supposed to be here?"  
  
Mars's eyes widened as she heard the voice. There was only one person in the Universe who called her dorkus. "Jed!" She called excitedly. "Is that you?"  
  
"Jed?" The others all asked in unison.  
  
"Hey Rei, long time no see huh?" He said.  
  
"I can't believe you are here!" She exclaimed. "I take it this is the Prince and the rest of the court?" She asked.  
  
"Yes would you mind explaining that to the guards?" Endymion asked irritably.  
  
"Oh yeah sorry bout that." Mars said turning towards the guards. "Release them." She demanded.  
  
"I am sorry Sailor Mars but we have orders to take in any intruders for questioning. You can't be to careful now a days." One guard said.  
  
Mars glared at them. "Have you even bothered to ask who they are? Of course not. If you did, you would have discovered that this is Prince Endymion of Earth and his court." She said angrily.  
  
"We apologize but we are following orders, regardless of who you think they are."  
  
Mars was now steamed. "As am I. And if you were following orders, you would follow mine, and release them. My orders come from Princess Venus who has the power to overrule the Queen's orders if necessary and the rest of us scouts have the authority to decide when that is necessary. Now would be one of those times. Meaning you follow the orders I give. Now will you release them, or do I have to talk to the Queen about getting new guards?" She asked.  
  
"Remind me never to get on her bad side." Neph said under his breath to Endymion.  
  
The guards reluctantly released the five men who proceeded to turn around, ready to greet their savior. The sight before them though cause their jaws to drop without any words coming out. The girl before them was gorgeous. She had long long raven hair that gracefully flowed down her back. She had large raven eyes that entranced whoever looked towards them. She was wearing a tight fitting white body suit with a purple bow in the back, and a very very very short red skirt.  
  
"Rei?" Jeadite finally managed to get out.  
  
"Hey Jed. Nice to finally see you again." She said smiling. "Hey Serin, it's safe, you can come out." She called behind her.  
  
The others remained speechless staring at the two.  
  
"Oh, I should introduce everyone. This is Kunzite, Nephlite, Zoisite, and Prince Endymion of Earth." He said pointing to each person. "Hope you don't mind that I totally skipped over protocol."  
  
"Not at all. And I apologize for the incident with the guards." Rei said. "Oh, and I am Sailor Mars, also known as Princess Rei of Mars." She said warmly. "And this is--" She turned around ready to introduce the princess, only to discover she was no longer there. "Oh shit!" She groaned.  
  
"What happened?" Kunzite asked.  
  
"Um please excuse me for leaving like this, but I gotta go. I have to find the princess." Rei said. "You lost your princess?" Nephlite asked smirking. He stopped when Rei glared at him. The others watched as she ran off.  
  
"That's Rei?" Endymion asked.  
  
Jade nodded, still in shock himself.  
  
"You guys up for a little spying?" Neph asked evilly.  
  
"Neph, we shouldn't follow her." Zoi said.  
  
"When has that ever stopped us?" Jade asked. They took off at a run to catch up to Rei.  
  
'I can't believe she ran off without saying anything. That is so unlike her.' Rei thought as she ran towards the gardens. 'She's crying. I can feel it. I better get to her soon.' She finally made it to the gardens and ran through, eventually finding Serin sitting against the wall crying her heart out. "Oh Ren." She said putting a comforting arm around her. "What's wrong?"  
  
She didn't even have to look up to know that it was Rei who had found her. "Oh Rei, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run off like that, and I'm sorry for messing up your reunion with Jeadite and everything." Serin said trying to dry her eyes.  
  
"Oh come on. You know that I'm not mad at you. And you know that no one is more important than you anyway!" Rei said hugging her. "Now are you going to tell me what's wrong or are we going to sit here all day?"  
  
"They seem to be very close." Zoisite observed from the bushes they were hiding in.  
  
"I take it that's the Moon Princess." Jade said elbowing Endymion.  
  
The prince however paid no attention as he stared at the weeping girl. 'She is absolutely breathtaking.' He thought in astonishment.  
  
"Ohhh I think Endy's in love." Neph teased.  
  
"Would you guys be quiet? I am trying to hear what is going on!" Endymion said.  
  
"Did I ever tell you about Travis?" Serin asked.  
  
"Ummm, no I don't think so." Rei responded. "Who is he?"  
  
"Was." She said quietly. "He passed away about seven years ago."  
  
"I'm sorry." Rei said. "Were you two close?"  
  
"He was my twin brother." She said looking up at her cousin and best friend.  
  
"Oh God Serin! I'm so sorry." She said hugging her once more.  
  
"It's ok. I'm as over it as can be expected, but when I saw them..." Serin stopped for a minute to regain her composure, and then continued. "When I saw one of the guards, I think it was the blonde one, I just broke down again."  
  
"Jeadite? But why would that upset you?" Rei asked puzzled.  
  
"Oh that's Jeadite? Your best friend Jeadite? Oh God I feel so stupid now!" Serin cried.  
  
"Don't. Just explain why it was so upsetting." Rei said soothingly.  
  
"He looks exactly like Travis would have at this age. And there was just something about it that made me think of Travis. Just the kind of person he seems to be." Serin said tears coming again.  
  
The others all turned to glare at Jade. "What?! It's not my fault!" He exclaimed. The others all turned back to the two girls talking. "Like I am supposed to know she had a twin brother." He muttered.  
  
"Oh Serin you poor thing." She said.  
  
"I am so sorry for just running off like that." She apologized again.  
  
"Look it's no big deal. But you do have to formally meet the Prince in a little while so why don't we go back in the palace ok?" Rei suggested as the two stood up.  
  
"I hope I don't embarrass everyone later by crying again when I meet Jed." Serin said.  
  
"You won't embarrass anyone, don't worry. And if you are worried about what your mom will say, I am sure she will understand also." Rei said soothingly.  
  
"Yeah I'm sure she will. And this time, I promise not to ruin your meeting with Jeadite ok?" She asked standing up.  
  
"Deal." Rei said standing also.  
  
As Serin noticed that Rei was still wearing her uniform, a realization came over her. "Wait, Rei, did they get a chance to see you at all?" She asked laughing.  
  
"Yeah why?"  
  
"Look at what you are wearing."  
  
Rei blushed as she realized how revealing her uniform was. "Hey I didn't make them. I just get stuck wearing them. Give me a second to change back will you?"  
  
Serin stepped to the side as Rei closed her eyes and concentrated. Within a few minutes she was once again wearing her Princess style dress. "You know," She commented, "I really don't think these dresses are much better looking. They are just as ugly and..." She continued as Rei and Serin walked back towards the castle.  
  
Once the two were out of sight, Endymion let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding until then. Jade was also still in a state of shock from seeing Rei.  
  
"We hate to say it," Kunzite started.  
  
"Actually I look forward to things like this," Nephlite added.  
  
"But we did tell you so." Zoisite finished.  
  
"Hey I never denied anything!" Endymion protested.  
  
"True, but Princess Serenity is really good looking."  
  
"Thanks, I hadn't figured that out yet." Endy said sarcastically.  
  
"So you gonna go for her Endy?" Neph asked nudging him.  
  
He smiled. "Might as well, we've got two months right?"  
  
"So what about you Jade?" Kunz asked.  
  
He looked up in surprise. "What? Why are you dragging me into this conversation?" He asked.  
  
"Well Rei is your best friend, and you do already know her," Zoisite let his voice trail off, leaving out the most important factor.  
  
"And she is incredibly hot." Endymion continued.  
  
"So our question is, are you going to go for her?" Kunz finished.  
  
"I don't know." He said groaning. "I mean last time I saw her she was a gawky little ten year old girl, and now she is this beautiful seventeen year old woman, but she also happens to be my best friend."  
  
"Yeah we wish we all had the same problem." Nephlite muttered.  
  
"So what do I do?" Jade asked. "Um can't help you on that right now," Zoisite said looking at his watch, "Because we are supposed to be in the Throne Room of the palace to meet the Queen and Princess and her court in exactly two minutes!" He exclaimed.  
  
"This is really gonna impress them all." Neph muttered as they took off for a run at towards the castle.  
  
"Where could they be? The guards should have led them here when they arrived." Queen Serenity said.  
  
Serin's eyes met Rei's as they both widened realizing what had happened. Before they could say anything though, five men ran into the throne room and stopped short upon seeing the others stare at them.  
  
"Please excuse us for being late your majesty, we got a little lost." Endymion explained.  
  
'That was my fault." Rei said stepping away from the others. Jade's gaze locked on her as he was once again mesmerized by her beauty. "The guards who greeted them would not listen that they were the Prince of Earth and his court. Once I convinced him to free them, I had to, go attend to someone immediately. Afterwards, I forgot that they had arrived, I apologize."  
  
"Rei, you should have known not to leave them like that. Were your reasons that important??" Queen Serenity asked.  
  
"Trust me Queen Serenity; it was imperative that I attended to this person." Rei said, her eyes telling the Queen to take a good look at the guards.  
  
Glancing at Rei curiously, she then turned to the Prince and his guards, who were all bowed. "Please rise." She said, and as they did she noticed that one, the blonde one, looked familiar. Suddenly she realized why Rei had run off, and after whom. After glancing towards her daughter, who was trying her hardest not to cry, her suspicions were confirmed. "I also apologize for Rei running off. Now though, we shall have proper introductions."  
  
Endymion stepped forward. "I am Prince Endymion of Earth. These are my guardians, and in order of rank, Kunzite, Jeadite, Nephlite, and Zoisite." They each stepped forward and bowed respectively.  
  
Princess Serenity now stepped forward. She took a deep breath and saw Rei give her an encouraging glance, and started the introductions. "I am Princess Serenity of the Moon, and am very pleased to meet you all. These are my guardians, also in order of rank. Princess Minako of Venus, Princess Rei of Mars, Princess Makoto of Jupiter, and Princess Ami of Mercury." Each girl stepped forward and curtsied as their name was announced.  
  
Everything was silent for a moment, and just as Serin was bout to panic, the Prince spoke up. "I hope you don't think this rude or too forward, but I was wondering if I might ask a question?" He asked.  
  
The Queen smiled at him. "Please do."  
  
"When Princess Mars greeted us before, she was in a weird sort of uniform. My Guards and I were just wondering why that is?"  
  
Queen Serenity stifled a laugh as she looked over at Rei who was blushing. "They saw you in your uniform?" She asked.  
  
Rei nodded as the other girls all broke into laughter.  
  
"Ooh Rei, kinda revealing for a first meeting wouldn't you say?" Minako teased.  
  
"Be Quiet. They had to see them eventually, they are training with us later on in their stay." Rei said defensively.  
  
"Rei is right you guys." Serin said defending her.  
  
She smiled gratefully at the Princess who then turned once more to Endymion and the others.  
  
"The outfit that Rei was wearing was her sailor scout outfit. As I am sure you all know, each of the princesses also have powers, that can be used in defense. To use these powers, they must transform, and they are then wearing a suit looking like the one Rei wore, with variations of color." Serin explained.  
  
"Thank you princess." Endymion said smiling at her.  
  
"Well I am sure the ten of you would all like to get to know each other more comfortably and without me around, so I will see you all at dinner." The Queen said as she left the room.  
  
Once they were sure that she was gone, the girls started talking. " Now I feel really bad Rei! If we had known that the people the guards had been holding were the prince and his court, we would never have sent you down, well at least not in scout form!" Makoto said giggling.  
  
"Like she minded all that much? She got to see five really hot guys." Minako said.  
  
This time Rei and Serin started to laugh and after a moment Ami joined in.  
  
"What is wrong with you guys?" Minako asked.  
  
"Those 'hot guys' you were talking about are still standing right behind you." Ami said.  
  
Minako blushed as she whirled around. "Oh yeah, uh hi." She said while everyone else in the room started laughing.  
  
After the laughter had died down, Serin spoke. "I want to apologize for running off before, and for making Rei follow me. I didn't mean for her to leave you there alone."  
  
"No problem Princess Serenity." Zoisite said cheerfully.  
  
"Uh while we are all here and everything, would you mind calling me Serin? Or at the very least Serenity? Everyone else does and I like it so much better." She said.  
  
"Won't it bother your mom?" Kunzite asked worried.  
  
"Her mom calls her Serin too. You don't have to worry." Makoto said.  
  
"Well while we are on the subject of name changes, would you mind calling me Endymion, or Endy?" Endymion questioned.  
  
"You can call me Kunz." Kunzite said.  
  
"Neph."  
  
"Zoi."  
  
"Jade."  
  
"Jade? What happened to Jed?" Rei asked.  
  
"Jed?" The generals asked in unison. "Actually Rei, you're probably the only one who calls me Jed. Everyone else just calls me Jade." He explained.  
  
"Do you mind if I still call you Jed? After twelve years of calling you that, it would be kinda hard to switch." She said.  
  
"Not at all."  
  
"So what about you guys, what are we calling you?" Neph asked.  
  
"Serin."  
  
"Minako."  
  
"Makoto."  
  
"Ami."  
  
"Rei."  
  
"Dorkus." Jade added softly.  
  
'Dorkus?" Minako asked.  
  
"Shut up Jed!" Rei said smiling.  
  
"No way! You never told them about dorkus?" Jade asked smiling at her.  
  
"Oh my God, are you gonna start telling all the stories?" She asked.  
  
"Well I do have to explain the dorkus part." Jeadite said shrugging.  
  
"Yes, please do." Ami said curiously.  
  
"Well when we were little we always used to call each other dork when we were annoyed by the other one." Jade started.  
  
"So one day he called me a dork, and I started protesting, so somehow he can up with dorkus." Rei finished.  
  
The others just gave them strange looks. "You two are a very weird pair." Endymion said shaking his head.  
  
"You know," Serin said, "We still have some time before we have to be back here for dinner. Would you care for a tour of the palace Endymion?" She asked shyly.  
  
"Way to go Serin." Rei whispered in her ear as Endymion happily agreed.  
  
"Yeah now you work on getting together with that hottie of yours." She whispered back as her and the prince walked off.  
  
Everyone was silent for a moment after the two left, until Jade spoke up. "How's your mom Rei? I haven't seen her since I left."  
  
"Neither have I." She said quietly.  
  
"Yeah but you must have talked to her somehow since then? Through letters or something right?" He asked.  
  
"Actually I haven't talked to my mom since the day I left." She said softly.  
  
Jeadite stared at her. "Rei you haven't talked to your mom in over five years? Is this because of--"  
  
"Now really isn't the best time to be talking about this." Rei said interrupting him as she meaningfully glanced towards the others.  
  
"They know, well somewhat. I had to explain why your mom hated me." Jade said as he saw her glance at the generals.  
  
"Wait, since when has my mom hated you?" Rei asked confused.  
  
"Since the first day I met you, when you were five and showed me your fire and I realized you were part of Princess Serenity's court." Jade said quietly.  
  
She stared at him with hurt filled eyes. "You knew all those years, and you never told me?" She asked, clearly hurt.  
  
"I wanted to but..." He started to say.  
  
"Come on. You have a lot to explain." Rei said grabbing his hand and dragging him away.  
  
The other six stared after them for a minute. "Anyone know what that was about?" Makoto asked.  
  
"Somewhat yes, But I'm not to sure we are allowed to say anything. I don't think we are even supposed to know." Neph said.  
  
"Well then, since we are accomplishing nothing standing around here, would you care to accompany me on a walk through the palace?" She asked smiling sweetly.  
  
Nephlite smiled back, realizing how gorgeous she was. "I would love to my Lady." He said offering his arm as the two walked out of sight.  
  
"Princess Minako, would you care to show me around?" Kunz asked.  
  
"Yeah sure." Minako said, first looking in the direction that Rei and Jed had run off to, then smiling at Kunzite. As the two walked off her only thought was, 'Gods Jade is cute!'  
  
Zoisite blushed as he faced Ami. Out of all the princesses that they had met that day, he found her to be the attractive. "Well I guess that leaves the two of us. Unless of course, you would rather not show me around."  
  
"No I would love to show you around actually." Ami found herself saying as she smiled at him. 'What am I doing? I belong with the books; the others are the guy-crazy ones!' She argued with herself. Ignoring the voice she took the arm that was offered to her by Zoisite. 'For once forget about the books and have some fun Ami!" She told herself as the two started off.  
  
Translations:  
  
Minna = Everyone  
  
Jaa Matta = See you later  
  
Ne = Right? (Or isn't it?) in question form, for example: The answer is 23 right(ne)? Chapter 7 on it's way!s 


	8. Chapter 7

Sorry for anyone who was waiting for this, I'll try to be quicker between updates. Reviews please!  
  
******************************  
  
As the Tears Fell~Chapter Seven  
  
By MCRK  
  
******************************  
  
After following, or rather being dragged by, Rei through most of the palace grounds, the two finally came to a stop in the gardens and sat down on a bench. "Ok, start explaining." She demanded.  
  
"You have just as much to explain as I do you know." Jade said angered by the way that she was acting.  
  
"Me? What do I have to explain?"  
  
"Well for starters how about why you haven't talked to your mom in over five years? Or why none of the other princess know about any of that?" He asked.  
  
"Fine. I'll explain all that, and tell you whatever you want to know. But you have to promise to then explain stuff also agreed?" Rei asked now calmer.  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"I guess the first thing you want to know is why I haven't talked to my mom at all right?" She asked.  
  
He nodded and waited for her to continue.  
  
"Well first of all in the letter that I sent you, right after I got here, I did tell you that I was never going to talk to my mom again." Rei said.  
  
"Well yeah you did but I didn't think you were serious! I mean you were 12, all 12 year olds say that." Jade exclaimed.  
  
"Well I meant it." She said determined.  
  
"Yeah but don't you think it's time to forgive her for that? She was doing what she thought was in your best interest." He said.  
  
"Oh come on Jed! You were there; you saw what her idea of 'my best interest' was. She had no right to keep something so important from me for all those years. And come to think of it, neither did you!" Rei said glaring at him.  
  
Jeadite sighed. "Look I'm sorry about that too and I'll explain that in a minute. But first you have to explain one more thing for me. Why is it that you never told any of the other guardians about this?" He asked.  
  
"It isn't something I enjoy looking back upon." She said quietly. "And it's not that I don't trust them or anything, but I don't know, I don't share that much with them regardless of how close we all are. Besides, I did tell one person; Princess Serenity knows."  
  
"You two are really close aren't you?" He asked softly.  
  
"We are as close as sisters. There is nothing that we can't tell each other. And it makes sense that we are so close, seeing as she is my cousin." Rei said quietly.  
  
Jade glanced at her with wide eyes. "You are related to Princess and Queen Serenity?" He asked.  
  
She nodded. "Another thing my mom didn't tell me when looking out for my 'best interest.'" She said sarcastically. "Queen Serenity is her sister, making the two of us cousins. But enough about that. You have explaining to do too you know." She said changing the subject.  
  
"Yeah unfortunately." He said.  
  
"Tell me something, how could you know for seven years that I was part of Princess Serenity's court, and never tell me?" Rei asked, her voice proving that clearly she was hurt.  
  
"Look Rei, trust me I wanted to tell you more then anything in the world." Jade said quickly.  
  
"Then what stopped you?"  
  
"Your mom." He said.  
  
"How did my mom stop you from telling me something?" She asked confused.  
  
"The same way she stopped me from telling you that I was one of Endymion's guards."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
He sighed. "Maybe I should just start from the beginning. Do you remember, how the first time I met you, you showed me your fire?" He asked.  
  
"Yes." Rei said nodding.  
  
"As soon as I saw that, I realized that you had to be one of Princess Serenity's guards. But since you didn't seem to know anything about it, I wanted to talk to your mom first to find out why you didn't know." Jade explained.  
  
"Did she give some stupid excuse about how she didn't want to lose me any earlier?" She asked sarcastically.  
  
"Actually she never really gave me a reason." Jade admitted.  
  
"So what stopped you from telling me?"  
  
"The fact that your mom threatened me that if I ever told you anything about it before you had to leave, and she found out, I would never be able to talk to you again." He said.  
  
"I wouldn't have let her know!" Rei exclaimed. "I was your best friend you couldn't trust me?"  
  
"It wasn't that, but I was so afraid that somehow it would slip or something. I couldn't run the risk of never talking to you again. And trust me I have tried to get her to change her mind over the years. Man have I tried." He said rolling his eyes. "Like remember when she threw you that huge birthday party for your 11th birthday? And she was acting all weird and everything, and you wrote to me upset because you were afraid something terrible was going to happen? Well when I got that letter, I realized why Victoria was doing all that and I sat down and her wrote her a very nasty letter. First telling her that she should have told you a long time ago, and she should tell you now, but then just yelling at her. I told her that if she wasn't go to tell you until it was time for you to leave, then the least, the very least she could do, was stop acting like her daughter was dying. She was never a model mother from the start, and now was too late to start trying to be one. I told her that is she was going to miss you so much, then she should start appreciating the time the two of you had left, not scaring you to death."  
  
"You did that for me?" Rei asked touched.  
  
"Of course I did. She wrote back to. Apologizing and promising that while she wouldn't tell you about being a guard, she would stop acting weird and talk to you." Jade said.  
  
Rei was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier and getting angry with you. I missed you a lot over the years and I'm sorry I ruined all this by getting mad."  
  
He shrugged. "No big deal. Besides you did have some right. But let's start over ok? Hey dorkus, long time no see huh?"  
  
She smiled. "Hey Jed. Haven't seen you in a while." She said. The two stood there for a moment before hugging each other tightly.  
  
**********************************  
  
"The palace grounds are beautiful Princess." Endymion said as he and Serin walked, hand in hand, through the palace grounds.  
  
"Please call me Serin." She said.  
  
"Ok Serin. So tell me about yourself."  
  
"Hmm what do you want to know?" Serin asked.  
  
"Everything."  
  
"Well let's see. I was born here, on June 30th, and you met my mom, and I'm not sure where my dad is. My mom never really said anything about him. Then when I was 12, the others all came. Those are my friends that you met before." She explained.  
  
"Right, Makoto, Minako, Ami, and Rei right?" He questioned.  
  
She smiled. "Yeah that's them. They're the best friends I could ever have, especially Rei."  
  
"She sounds like a wonderful person, Jade talks about her often too." Endymion said.  
  
"She is. She has always been there for me. Through everything. She is also my cousin you know." She said looking up at him.  
  
"No I didn't." He said in surpass. "Are your mothers sisters?"  
  
"Yeah but I never met her mom. When Rei was little she had this big thing with never telling her that she was a scout, or that I was her cousin. And since then, Rei won't even talk to her." Serin said.  
  
"That's terrible."  
  
"Yeah I know. But let's move on to something happier." She said.  
  
"Ok like what?" Endy couldn't help but laugh lightly at her bubbly personality.  
  
'Tell me about you."  
  
"You want to know about me? Ok, I was born on August 3, on Earth. I'm 19 years old; I have a younger sister, Terra who can be a major pain sometimes. Do you have siblings?" He asked, completely forgetting about the conversation between Rei and Serin that he had overheard before.  
  
Serin was silent for a moment, not sure how to answer. "I...did." She said slowly.  
  
He saw the hurt in her eyes and felt terrible. "If you don't want to say anything, I'll understand."  
  
"No it's ok. It's just hard for me to say. I had a twin brother, but he died about seven years ago, and I miss him a lot." Serin explained as she started to silently cry.  
  
"Oh Serin, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He said gathering her in his arms.  
  
"I'm sorry for crying on you and everything." She said wiping her eyes.  
  
"Don't apologize, I should have made you talk about it. But if you ever want to talk, I'm here. I may not have ever lost someone close to me, but I am always willing to listen."  
  
Serin pulled away and looked deep into his eyes. "Thank you. No one has ever done that for me before."  
  
Endymion tried to pull his gaze away but failed. "May I ask a favor of you?" He whispered.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"May I kiss you?"  
  
"But that wouldn't be a favor. A favor is usually something one person doesn't want to do. And I assure you, I want for you to kiss me." Serin whispered smiling up at him.  
  
"Wait, so I can?" He asked.  
  
She laughed. "Yes."  
  
Cupping her cheek with his hand Endymion leaned down and kissed Serenity. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and he found his arms wrapping themselves around her waist and holding her tightly.  
  
**************************  
  
'What is wrong with me?' Jade wondered. 'These thoughts are kinda abnormal, I mean she is my best friend! That would be like going out with a sister, seeing as she is the closest thing to one. And yet, I never want to leave her embrace.'  
  
'Whoa did I just say to myself that Jed is really hot?' Rei wondered silently. 'What is wrong with me here? First of all he is my best friend, second of all he is older then me, and third, I already have a boyfriend! This is probably just hormones or something.'  
  
"I missed you so much." Rei said.  
  
"I know I missed you too." Jade responded reluctantly letting her go. "You look so different." He said gazing at her. "And I mean that in a good way." He added quickly.  
  
Rei stifled a laugh. "Yeah well I'm not exactly a gawky ten year old anymore am I?"  
  
"Definitely not."  
  
"But you didn't turn out to bad either. You look a little to much like someone else who isn't around any more, but that's ok."  
  
"Serin's brother right?" He asked not really paying attention.  
  
She gasped. "So you guys were spying on us!" She exclaimed. "I was wondering how you tell that Serin and I are so close. You guys were spying on us."  
  
Jade blushed as he tried to come up with an excuse. "Well we only followed you guys because we where else to go, and we didn't really want to get to lost so we just followed you. We weren't planning on listening in. We just wanted to see if that would help us find our way, but then Endy like totally fell in love with the Princess. Are you mad at me?" He asked.  
  
"You know I can't get mad at you. Even if you have a lame excuse." Rei said laughing.  
  
He shrugged. "It worked though."  
  
"So the Prince likes Serin?" She asked curiously.  
  
"Likes? He was speechless after he first saw her. He is head over heels for her, and if she is as nice as a person as she seems, he will be even more in love after they talk."  
  
"Really? Good. I told her that the two of them were going to end up falling in love and now I get to bug her about it." She said grinning.  
  
"Would you really do that to her?" He asked.  
  
"Are you kidding me? Of course I would! Do you know how much she would bug me if this was me?" She asked.  
  
"Wait, she thought you and Endymion were going to fall for each other?" Jade asked, now confused.  
  
"No! She thought that you and I were going to fall for each other." Rei said smiling.  
  
"Now that would just be really strange." He said forcing a smile. 'So why is it that I think I am?' He wondered.  
  
Rei looked at her watch. "I think it's time we got back to the palace. We still have to show you guys your rooms so you can get ready for dinner."  
  
Jade agreed and the two started walking back.  
  
******************************  
  
"Lady Minako are you all right?" Kunzite asked waving a hand in front of her face.  
  
"What?" She asked snapping back to reality.  
  
"I was asking if you were all right, you seem some what out of it." He said.  
  
"I'm sorry, I have something on my mind." She apologized.  
  
"No need to apologize. I understand." He said gazing at her. 'What is it about her that makes me feel like I would do anything for her? I mean come on, I have my job, I don't have time for love.' He scolded himself.  
  
Minako, on the other hand, had her thoughts focused on someone else. 'I wonder why Rei never told us that Jeadite was so incredibly hot!' She exclaimed silently. 'I really hope she doesn't want to go for him, cause there is no way I can not go for him. Course, only if it doesn't bother her.'  
  
The two walked down the path in silence for a few minutes. "So where are you from Lord Kunzite?" Minako asked finally.  
  
"As I am sure you know, I currently live on Earth, but I am originally from Saturn."  
  
"Wow, the other side of the galaxy huh? What is it like over there? Any different?"  
  
"The girls aren't nearly as beautiful as you are." He replied, to both of their surprise.  
  
"That is kind of you to say." Minako said blushing. "Wasn't it hard to move across the galaxy though to come live at Earth?" She asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.  
  
"Well kind of. But it was for my job, and that is all there is to it." He replied.  
  
"I feel the same way." She said.  
  
"May I ask you, somewhat of a personal question?" He asked nervously.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Do you, by any chance, have a boyfriend?" He asked, his face turning red, not usually this forward.  
  
"Actually I don't." She said, 'But hopefully I will real soon.' She thought smiling as she thought of Jade.  
  
Assuming that she was smiling at him, Kunzite smiled back.  
  
Lost in her thoughts, Minako looked down at the flowers.  
  
"Minako?"  
  
She lifted her head, to find her face a mere inches from Kunzite's. She didn't have time to ask what he was doing, when he leaned over and gently kissed her.  
  
******************************  
  
Serenity and Endymion were still kissing moments later when a gasp broke them apart. Blushing they turned to see a black cat, with a crescent shape on it's forehead, staring at them.  
  
Serin started to blush even more as she looked down at the cat. "Uh hi Luna." She said.  
  
"Well, I guess your mother will be happy about this at least." Luna said.  
  
"Did that cat just talk?" Endy asked nervously.  
  
She started laughing. "Yes. That is Luna, my guardian cat."  
  
The cat glared at him for a moment as he stood there nervously.  
  
Serin noticed and started scolding the cat. "Luna would you knock it off? You are my guardian and my mentor yes, but you are not in control of my life. I am allowed to kiss him if I want to. And I want to so there." She said.  
  
The cat sighed. "You grew up too fast you know that?" She asked. "I remember when you used to hate boys."  
  
"Not all boys. I never hated Travis." She quietly interjected.  
  
Luna looked at her, surprised that she had mentioned Travis in front of Endymion.  
  
"It's Ok Luna, he knows. I trust him." Serin said taking his hand. "Now did you come out here to tell me something, or just to spy on me?"  
  
"Oh right. I came to inform you that it is almost time for dinner, and I am sure the Prince would like to go to his room first." Luna said regaining her composure as the three walked towards the palace.  
  
**************************  
  
Minako pulled away in shock. "What are you doing?" She exclaimed.  
  
"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted me to..." Kunzite said flushing.  
  
"No! No I didn't!" She shouted.  
  
"I apologize deeply Lady Minako. I must have misread you. I didn't mean to offend you in anyway." He said apologizing.  
  
"Look I know I said that I don't have a boyfriend, and no offense to you or anything, but I am just not interested in you in that way. I mean you are a wonderful person, and very good looking, but right now I am interested in some one else." She explained gently. "Gomen."  
  
"Might I ask who it is? If you don't mind telling me, that is."  
  
"Jeadite."  
  
"Oh I see." He said stiffly. "Look it's probably time we head back to the castle. I am somewhat tired from the trip." He said turning away from her.  
  
"I really am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She said trying again.  
  
"Yamate. You apologized, and your apology was accepted, it is not that big of a deal." He said stopping her.  
  
She nodded as the two of them silently started back.  
  
********************************  
  
As most of the palace slept, the princess and her court were still wide- awake, together in Serin's room discussing the events of the day.  
  
"Soooo, who is going to start?" Rei asked.  
  
"I think Serin should." Makoto exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah come on tell us what happened between you and the Prince!" Ami added.  
  
"Well not that much happened." She said blushing.  
  
"Yeah sure." The others all said rolling their eyes.  
  
"We saw the way you two were looking at each other during dinner!" Minako said.  
  
"Yeah so spill." Rei demanded.  
  
"We went for a walk, and we were talking, and I told him things about when I was growing up." She paused for a minute. 'And I told him about Travis. I'll talk to you privately later.' She thought, sending the message to Rei, who nodded in reply.  
  
"Then what happened?"  
  
"Then...he kissed me. And it was so heavenly!" Serin exclaimed happily.  
  
"Awwww how cute." Rei said.  
  
"Yeah, and what about you and Jeadite?" Ami asked.  
  
"Yeah what was that whole thing about?" Makoto questioned.  
  
It was Rei's turn to blush as she stalled answering the question.  
  
"Ok what did I miss?" Serin wanted to know.  
  
"Well while you were with Endymion, Jade asked Rei how her mom was doing. And she said she hasn't talked to her since she left. And he said is this because of--" Minako explained, stopping in the middle of her sentence.  
  
"Because of what?" She asked in confusion.  
  
"We don't know. Then Rei dragged him away telling him not to say anything." Makoto added.  
  
They all turned to Rei. "Yes, what was going on?" Ami asked.  
  
"And what I want to know is, did he kiss you yet?" Serin asked smiling at her.  
  
"It's not that I don't trust you guys enough to tell you, it's just something that is really personal, and really painful for me to look back upon. I would rather not saying anything." She said quietly.  
  
"Well what about my question?"  
  
"No he did not kiss me, and I did not kiss him." She replied laughing. "I have a boyfriend already remember?"  
  
" Yeah, Dave. Damn. I was so sure you two were going to get together." Serin said. "But, what about the rest of you?" She asked slyly.  
  
"Nothing happened. Nephlite and I walked around for a while talking, and he is a really nice guy and I hope to get to know him better." Makoto supplied.  
  
"Same with Zoisite. Nothing really happened, we just talked." Ami said.  
  
Everyone turned to Minako. "I take it you showed Kunzite around?" Rei asked.  
  
"He kissed me." She said softly.  
  
"Is it just me, or do most people usually enjoy being kissed? You make it seem like it was terrible." Serin said.  
  
"It's not that." She said sighing. "But I don't like him in that way."  
  
"So who do you like, you know in that way." Ami questioned.  
  
"Jeadite." She said finally.  
  
The others all looked back and forth between her and Rei with surprised looks on their face. "You mean my best friend, the one who I grew up with, trust more than anyone in the Universe Jeadite?" Rei asked.  
  
She nodded shamefully. "If you were going to go for him, or if you don't want me to ask him out, please tell me and I promise I won't do anything." Minako said.  
  
"Regardless of what Serin thinks, even after seeing him, I have no intentions of going for him. I mean, I love him to death, but not in that way. Besides he is my best friend, I would never want to change that." She said smiling at Minako.  
  
"But would it bother you if I asked him out?" She asked hopefully.  
  
"As long as you do not hurt him, I don't mind." Rei said.  
  
She smiled. "That means a lot to me, thank you."  
  
"So when are you going to ask him out?" She asked eagerly.  
  
Minako blushed. "I'm not sure. I'd like to get to know him a little better first."  
  
"You should ask him to the ball!" Serin said her eyes lighting up.  
  
"What ball?" Makoto asked.  
  
"Oh I forget to tell you guys. Mother has decided to hold a ball tomorrow night to welcome Prince Endymion and his court." She explained.  
  
"I feel kinda uncomfortable asking him that soon. Maybe I will dance with him there but...well anyway, what about the rest of you, are you planning on going to the ball?" Minako questioned.  
  
"Maybe I should ask Nephlite." Makoto wondered.  
  
"Maybe he will ask you." Serin said.  
  
"Endy will surely ask Serin." Rei said as Serin blushed.  
  
"I think I will just stay home. As long as my presence is not required, I can catch up on my studying." Ami said.  
  
The others rolled their eyes.  
  
"Come one Ami, like you really need to study anymore. Besides, how do you know Zoisite won't ask you?" Minako asked slyly.  
  
"We are just friends, I doubt he will ask me to the ball." She said in embarrassment. "What about you Rei?" She asked trying to change the subject. "Are you going with Dave?"  
  
"I don't think so. I will probably go to the ball anyway, but he is visiting some family on Saturn, and I don't think he will be back for a few days." She said, smiling at the thought of her current boyfriend.  
  
"Rei, why is it that every time we have a ball, Dave either comes down with some strange illness, or is visiting some family on some other planet? I mean how much family can he have?" Serin asked.  
  
"He can't dance for his life, and he is just to embarrassed to admit that." Rei said smiling.  
  
At that moment Serin's clock beeped twelve and the girls all jumped in surprise.  
  
"Wow it's twelve already? I gotta go I need some sleep. Night." Makoto called as she left the room.  
  
"Yes I need sleep so I can be ready for the day tomorrow." Ami said as she walked away.  
  
"Well I am going to bed so I can dream about Jade all night long." Minako said smiling. "Oyasumi Nasai!" She called as she left.  
  
Serin turned to Rei who didn't move. "I take it you are staying?" She asked.  
  
"For now. I want some details on what happened."  
  
"You mean about how I told him about Travis right?"  
  
"Well yeah pretty much."  
  
"I'm not even sure why I did. We were just talking and he asked if I had any siblings. And I just had this feeling that I could trust him no matter what. Does that sound insane?" Serin asked.  
  
"No." Rei said smiling at her. "It makes total sense."  
  
"I just got the feeling that I could tell him anything."  
  
"Is that when he kissed you?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah. But the best part was, before he did it, he actually asked me whether he could kiss me or not!" Serin exclaimed.  
  
"Awww how sweet!" Rei responded. "By the way, thanks for not saying any thing to the others. You and Jed are really the only people who know anything about what happened with my mom."  
  
"No problem."  
  
"Look, I promise I will talk to you more about this in the morning, but right now," She paused to yawn, "I am falling asleep. So oyasumi nasai." She said heading towards the door.  
  
"Hey, Rei?" Serin called stopping the other girl. "Why do you think that I already feel so close to him, and like I can trust him with my life?"  
  
Rei smiled at her and shrugged. "Maybe he is your soul mate."  
  
*********************************  
  
The next morning on her way to breakfast Makoto ran into Nephlite.  
  
"Oh hello Nephlite." She said smiling at him.  
  
"Hi there lady." He said taking her hand and kissing it lightly.  
  
"I was wondering, would you care to escort me to the ball tonight?" She asked nervously.  
  
"It would be an honor to escort a lady as beautiful as he." He replied.  
  
"Arigato." She said blushing. "I look forward to tonight."  
  
"As do I."  
  
***********************************  
  
"Good morning Lord Zoisite." Ami called a she passed him on her way to the training grounds.  
  
"Good morning to you also Lady Ami." He said smiling at her.  
  
"Please, just call me Ami? Lady sounds so formal."  
  
"Only if you promise to call me Zoisite, Lord is a little too proper."  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"Where are you headed Ami?" He asked.  
  
"Training grounds, is that not where you are going also?" She questioned.  
  
"Actually I am. Would you mind if I walked with you?" Zoi asked.  
  
"Of course not." She said as the two set off.  
  
"I take it you heard about the ball tonight?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, but I doubt I will attend." She responded.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Well I am not very big on balls, I find them time consuming. I could be doing much better things with my time like studying, or reading." Ami explained." Besides, no one would want to dance with me anyway." She added quietly.  
  
"Ami!" Zoisite said in shock. "Are you crazy? Who wouldn't want to dance with you? You are a beautiful, intelligent, amazing women."  
  
"Thank you." She said blushing once more. "But I still plan on staying home."  
  
"What if I asked if I could escort you, would you come then?" He asked quietly.  
  
She looked over at him in surprise. "You would want to go with me?" She asked. "That might not be the best idea, I am somewhat of a geek around here."  
  
"That makes no difference to me. You are wonderful person and I like you a great deal." He said firmly, and with that he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.  
  
"Well I guess I can't turn down and offer like that now can I?" Ami asked afterwards.  
  
He smiled at her. "You better not. Now, I think we were on our way to the training grounds?" He asked.  
  
********************************  
  
"Well you two certainly took some time getting here." Serin commented as Ami and Zoisite finally made their way to the training session, where the others were all already waiting.  
  
"Well now that you are all here, we can explain the purpose of this." Artemis, Minako's guardian and one of Queen Serenity's advisors said.  
  
"You ten, are going to spar. General vs. Scout, in order of rank. Meaning Venus and Kunzite, Mars and Jeadite, Jupiter and Nephlite, Mercury and Zoisite, and Serin and Endymion. So ladies, if you would transform." Luna said.  
  
"Transform?" Jade asked.  
  
"Just watch." Rei said smiling at him as the girls called out their respective phrases.  
  
"VENUS POWER!"  
  
"MARS POWER!"  
  
"JUPITER POWER!"  
  
"MERCURY POWER!"  
  
"MOON PRISM POWER!"  
  
The guards watched in amazement as the girls were encased in water, fire, electricity, ribbons, and hearts. Within moments five girls in very short skirts were standing before them. One in light blue, one in dark blue, one I red, one in green and one in orange.  
  
"Those are the uniforms Rei was wearing when we first met her." Zoisite realized.  
  
"Yeah except now we are all wearing them." Sailor Moon said.  
  
"And I have to say it looks best on you." Endy whispered to her.  
  
"Be quiet." She said giggling.  
  
"Ahem." Luna said glaring at the two.  
  
"Gomen."  
  
"Thank you, now if we could continue. First you need to show one another your powers, so as not to surprise someone in the middle of a fight. If the generals and the Prince would please go first." Luna said.  
  
"Where are we aiming this towards?" Kunzite asked.  
  
"You can hit any one of the targets over there." Artemis said pointing. "They were specially made not to let attacks pass them and destroy anything so don't worry."  
  
Kunzite nodded and after whispering a few words that no one was able to hear, a large ball of energy and light flew forth from his hands and slammed into the target.  
  
"You don't have to say anything to trigger your attack?" Mercury asked curiously.  
  
"Not really. It just kinda happens." He replied, stepping back to let Jeadite do his attack.  
  
"Mine's much cooler don't worry." He assured the girls.  
  
After concentrating for a moment, "Phoenix Fire...ENGULF!" He shouted as a large ball of fire shot out from his hands.  
  
"You got your wish huh?" Mars asked him softly.  
  
"What wish?" He asked in confusion.  
  
"When I first showed you my fire thing, the first thing you said was, 'I wish I could do that.'" She said smiling at him.  
  
"Yeah and now that I can. I discover it isn't all that great anyway." He said laughing.  
  
"Can I go now?" Nephlite asked impatiently.  
  
"Oh yeah sorry go ahead."  
  
"Ocean Winds...ENCASE!" He yelled, sending a freezing wind towards the target, knocking it over.  
  
"Pretty impressive." Jupiter said.  
  
"Yeah I know." He said.  
  
They were interrupted by Zoi's attack. "Ice...Water...FREEZE" Everyone watched as two columns of icy water went straight towards the target, freezing it upon impact.  
  
"Pretty good attacks." Venus said.  
  
"Yeah but now we get to go." Mars said grinning.  
  
"I am sure your attacks are so much better huh?" Jade asked her.  
  
"Well they kinda are." She said.  
  
"We'll see."  
  
Venus prepared herself for her attack and after a moment shouted, "Venus...love chain...ENCIRCLE!" as a string of hearts wound their way around the target. The generals started snickering, trying to hold in their laughter at the wimpy attack.  
  
"Be quiet, she isn't done yet." Moon scolded them. They all shut up as they saw her love and beauty shock slam into the target.  
  
"There how was that?" She asked smugly.  
  
The others were speechless.  
  
"Are everyone's attacks that good?" Zoisite asked.  
  
"Pretty much." She said.  
  
"Not Rei's attack though. She just has the wousy stream of fire." Jade teased.  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Wousy fire?" She asked. "Yeah I'll show you my wousy fire." The scouts started to laugh as they realized the attacks Mars was about to do.  
  
"Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan." She started softly holding up a small ofuda. "Mars...Firebird...STRIKE!" She shouted, turning the paper into a bird of fire that dove towards the target. "That wasn't even my most powerful one." She said laughing at the general's reactions. "Mars...Celestial..Fire...Surround! So, how was that for 'wousy fire?'" Mars asked afterwards.  
  
"What happened to your little fire stream?" Jade asked.  
  
"Let's just say it matured." She responded.  
  
"K, my turn." Jupiter said. "Jupiter.Thunderclap.ZAP!" She yelled sending forth a large ball of sparkling lightning.  
  
"I don't even want to see Mercury's attack." Zoisite moaned.  
  
"Yeah do you realize how wimpy ours are compared to these?" Nephlite asked.  
  
"Oh don't worry. My attack isn't all that amazing." Mercury said cheerfully, then focused her concentration and energy towards her attack. "Shine.Aqua.ILLUSIONS!" Everyone watched as a huge tunnel of water slammed into the target.  
  
"Oh no, not amazing at all." Endymion said.  
  
"Well now that you all have seen each other's powers, you are to spar. No using powers, and the first to fall, and stay down, loses and the match is over. Any questions? No? Good. Begin." Luna commanded as the scouts and the generals began to fight.  
  
Within the first few minutes Mercury was knocked down by Zoisite.  
  
"No fair. I was distracted." She said smiling.  
  
He simply smiled and shrugged at her.  
  
Jupiter was soon to follow after being knocked down by Nephlite.  
  
"Hey Serin?" Endy asked.  
  
She stopped her fighting for a moment to answer, "Yes?"  
  
"I win." He said smiling as he knocked her down.  
  
"Ohhhh you cheat!" She said smiling.  
  
Venus and Kunzite were the next to fall, both landing down at the same time concluding their spar in a tie.  
  
All that was left were Mars and Jade, and Mars was not winning.  
  
'Luna said no powers, but that doesn't mean I can't use and ofuda. As long as I use it alone, it won't be cheating.' She thought with a smile.  
  
"What are you smiling about, you do realize you are about to lose right?" Jade asked.  
  
She just grinned as she whispered the words, "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan!" And slapped the small piece of paper on his forehead, causing him to cease his movement.  
  
"Hey!" He cried out, but momentarily later was knocked down by her.  
  
"Ha. I win." She said smugly.  
  
"So it seems the spars are over." Artemis said looking around.  
  
Mars looked around and noticed that she was the only scout standing.  
  
"Jade, how did you get beaten by a girl?" Nephlite asked laughing.  
  
"She used and ofuda." He muttered.  
  
"And what is so wrong with being beaten by a girl?" Mars asked glaring at him. "We all could have beaten you guys had the others not been distracted." She said, now glaring at the other scouts.  
  
"Hey I didn't lose. Our match was a draw." Venus protested as she stood up.  
  
"But the others still should have won." She said.  
  
"Yeah yeah yeah. Stop complaining Mars." Moon said smiling at her. "We'll win next time. Besides we are going to be fighting with them, not against them, and we can always win that way."  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Well if you gentleman will excuse us, we have to go prepare for the ball tonight." Jupiter said.  
  
"As do we. I shall see you there?" Nephlite asked smiling at her.  
  
She giggled and nodded as they headed off.  
  
****************************  
  
"I am really really nervous. What if he doesn't show up? Or if he was lying and he doesn't really like me? Or if he doesn't want to dance with me?" Serin asked nervously after the scouts were all properly introduced to the rest of the ball.  
  
"Serin, would you calm down?" Rei asked rolling her eyes. "You have nothing to worry about. He came, he is right over there. And he is headed towards you."  
  
She bit her lip nervously and waited for Endymion to make his way over to where the girls were standing.  
  
"Good Evening My Lady." He said bringing her hand softly against her lips.  
  
"Oh yeah, he hates you." Rei whispered to her.  
  
"May I have this dance?" He asked.  
  
She nodded silently and was led unto the dance floor.  
  
Moments later Nephlite and Jeadite made their way over.  
  
"Excuse me, I believe I am your escort?" Neph asked a blushing Makoto. "I take it that entitles me to at least one dance right?"  
  
"You are entitled to as many as you like." She said following him out to dance.  
  
"Oh what's this? A beautiful lady such as yourself is standing all alone?" Jade asked teasing Rei.  
  
"Would you be quiet." She said smiling. "Besides I don't see you dancing with anyone."  
  
"Well would you do me the honors?" He asked bowing to her.  
  
She laughed. "Only if you promise not to bow anymore, you look so foolish."  
  
"Deal."  
  
"Well I guess it's just you and me Ames." Minako said staring wistfully at Jeadite who was dancing with Rei.  
  
"Actually it's just you."  
  
Minako whirled around in surprise to see whom the male voice belonged to. "Kunzite?" She asked. "What happened to Ami?"  
  
"She is dancing with Zoisite. Those two are quite fond of each other." He explained pointing the two out.  
  
"Great so now I am here all by myself huh?" She asked.  
  
"You are not all by yourself. I am here."  
  
"I don't even deserve to have you talking to me. I was pretty rude to you the other day." She said quietly.  
  
"You can't help the way you feel." He said, obviously embarrassed. "But how would you like to dance?" He asked changing the subject.  
  
"Sure why not?"  
  
************************  
  
"Hey guys." Endymion said as he and Serin made their way over towards the refreshment table where Rei and Jade were sitting.  
  
You know Rei; the two of you have been dancing all night. Maybe I should tell Dave he should be jealous." Serin teased.  
  
"Would you be quiet?" She asked as the couple left.  
  
"Who is Dave?" Jade asked.  
  
"My boyfriend." Rei said.  
  
"So do I get to meet him?" He asked trying to keep up his cool front. But inside he felt a small twinge of jealousy when he heard she had a boyfriend. 'Where did that come from? It's not like I am dating her.' He told himself. 'But you want to be.'  
  
"Of course you will get to meet him. He is just not here at the moment. He is visiting some family on Jupiter." She explained. Suddenly her eyes lit up as she saw Minako walking towards them. "Come with me for a minute." She said grabbing Jade's hand and taking him to where Minako was standing.  
  
"Jed I want you to meet my friend Minako. Minako, Jed." Rei said introducing the two.  
  
"Hi." She said shyly.  
  
"Hey." Jade said wondering what Rei was up to. He would much rather be dancing with her.  
  
"Ask him." She whispered to Minako.  
  
"Would you care to dance?" Minako asked.  
  
"Sure." He said forcing a smile. 'Oh great this should be exciting.' Jade thought.  
  
Rei smiled at the two as she wandered away. She noticed Kunzite standing against the wall looking incredibly lonely. "Hello Kunzite." She said approaching him.  
  
"Good Evening Lady Rei."  
  
She smiled at him. "Would you like to dance?"  
  
"Why not?" He asked as the two started dancing.  
  
While they moved their way throughout the ballroom, Rei kept sneaking glances at Minako and Jade to see how they were doing and it took her a moment before she realized that Kunzite was doing the exact same thing. "Oh my God!" She said putting a hand over her mouth.  
  
"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Kunz asked in concern.  
  
"Oh no I didn't mean to frighten you. Gomen." She said apologizing.  
  
"What is wrong then?"  
  
"I am so sorry! I just remembered how you feel about Minako!"  
  
"How do you know about that?" He asked.  
  
"Well Minako told us how you kissed her and." She let her voice trail off.  
  
He sighed. "Yeah I kissed her, she broke away asking what I was doing and then said she liked Jeadite."  
  
"And I just hooked them up dancing and I completely forgot how you felt about her!" Rei said. "I am really sorry."  
  
"No big deal." Kunzite said shrugging. "She is happier with him anyway."  
  
She looked over to where the other two were dancing. "You know, I think you and Minako would make a better pair anyway."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"Well you are both very much alike. You are both very dedicated to your jobs and you love what you do. Plus, you are both very serious, in a good way." She added quickly.  
  
He couldn't help but smile when he heard. "I can guess how you know all this about Minako, but how do you know all that about me? Is it that obvious?"  
  
"No not at all. I only know because Jed told me all about you guys in his letters." She said.  
  
"Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Where did you get the name Jed?"  
  
"When I first met him, I was only like five years old, and I couldn't pronounce his name right for the life of me. I said it every other way possible but I couldn't get it right, so I just shortened it to Jed." Rei explained.  
  
"Oh I see." Kunz said. The two continued to talk as they danced around the ballroom.  
  
***********************  
  
Jade stiffled another yawn as the two continued to dance. Minako had to be the most boring person he had ever met in his life.  
  
"And then I realized that it wasn't until 4:00!" She exclaimed laughing.  
  
He forced a smile, feigning interest. 'I am going to kill Rei for this.' He thought.  
  
"This is nice." Minako said.  
  
"Yes it is." 'But I would rather be talking or dancing or doing something with Rei!' His mind exclaimed. 'I am so confused! Where are these thoughts coming from? Why is it that all of a sudden I get jealous if she has a boyfriend? I mean what is the big deal, I should be happy for her.' Another small voice popped up and answered him. 'As long as you are in love with her, you can't be happy if she is with someone else.'  
  
*************************  
  
The End of Chapter 7  
  
Translations:  
  
Gomen: I'm sorry, slightly casual  
  
Yamate: Stop  
  
Oyasumi Nasai: Good Night  
  
Arigato: Thank you. I forgot to mention in the last chapter that Travis is just a random character that I made up. I'm pretty sure that when I originally wrote this story and came up with the idea for it, that Travis had an actually purpose for being in the story. His creating wouldn't have really had much to do with this story, but I think that it would have had a larger role in one of my following stories. Seeing as that was a good four years ago though, I really have no idea. So he's just kind of a random insert that is mentioned in a few chapters. Absolutely no one important and does not need to be focused on much. Also, the generals' powers I just made up, they are again completely unimportant and I think are only even mentioned one other time in the story. Thanks for reading, the next chapter will be out shortly. Thanks for all of the reviews, please keep them coming and let me know what think of the story. 


	9. Chapter 8

I forgot to thank all of my reviewers in my last chapter. First, thank you to Tengokunou Arashi who wrote me quite a few reviews, I so glad you enjoy the story so much! Also the same for missy, thanks for the reviews! As for RubyRedDragon05 and Lauren, im glad that you guys found me once again! My old website can no longer be updated or fixed or anything for some reason, I just can't seem to get it to work. So that was my main reason for moving to FF.net and like I said, im glad that you guys found me again and are still sticking with my stories! As for Ever Forever Ever, I still can't believe that I wrote that last chapter and left it the way I did and than picked that point to just stop writing. I'm so sorry! I would kill me too if I was a reader. I am hard at work on that story though, the next chapter is already a good 30 pages I think, and I'd say im only about a quarter of the way through. Hopefully by the end of the summer, keep your fingers crossed. Once I get closer to finishing (and once I get the rest of this, CUF, and the beginning of EFE, posted up on here) I will post a preview of the next chapter. Thank you guys for still reading after the long hiatus, I promise the Rei/Matt issue *does* get resolved and the chapter *will* eventually be out. As for now, enjoy as the tears fell again! Thanks for all the reviews from everyone, please keep them coming!  
  
******************************  
  
As the Tears Fell~Chapter Eight  
  
By MCRK  
  
******************************  
  
Jade paced around the room in confusion. After last night's events it had become clear to him that he was falling in love with Rei. The only problem  
now was what to do about it.  
  
"Jade would you calm down?" Endy asked as he watched his friend.  
  
"Sorry I just have a lot on my mind." He said sitting down. "Why are you so happy?"  
  
"The ball last night; Princess Serenity is incredibly beautiful. I think I'm in love." Endy exclaimed happily.  
  
"That's nice. I haven't really talked to her at all but she seems like a nice person."  
  
"Well what about you and the Princess from Venus? Minako right?"  
  
Jade rolled his eyes at the mention of her. "She is the dullest most boring person I have ever met." He said.  
  
"You better not let Kunz hear you say that. He is head over heels for her." Endy advised.  
  
"Good maybe I can hook the two of them up." 'Leaving me free to go after Rei.' He added silently.  
  
"Leaving you free to go after who?"  
  
He smiled. "You know me to well."  
  
"Yeah I know. Now tell me."  
  
"You have to promise never to tell this to anyone, not even the other generals got it? What I'm going to tell you can never leave this room." Jade instructed.  
  
"Of course I promise. Never to be repeated. 'Course I don't understand why you are being so secretive about this whole thing. You never have been before." Endy said.  
  
"Yeah well this isn't someone I can just ask out." He explained.  
  
"Who is it?"  
  
"Rei."  
  
Endymion's eyes widened as his mouth dropped open. "Rei? As in Rei who you grew up with? The one who controls fire, Serin's best friend, Princess of Mars, that Rei?" He asked.  
  
Jade nodded.  
  
"And you are falling for her?"  
  
He nodded again.  
  
"Wow. That is kind of a problem."  
  
"And I have no idea what to do!" Jade moaned.  
  
"Well you could always ask..."  
  
"No! I don't want to ask her out, yet. Right now, she still thinks of me as 'just a friend'. And there's the small problem , she's got a boyfriend." He admitted.  
  
"Have you met him yet?"  
  
"Met who?"  
  
"Her boyfriend." Endy said rolling his eyes.  
  
"Oh him. No not yet, apparently he isn't here or something. But what would that have to do with anything?" Jade asked.  
  
He sighed, "If you meet her boyfriend, and he is a total jerk, then you know that they aren't going to stay together that long. Do you know how serious they are?"  
  
"Endy I didn't ask for a complete status on her relationship! She just told me she had a boyfriend, and when I asked if I got to meet him she said that he wasn't here right now."  
  
"Ok ok sorry."  
  
"But I'm not even really worried about her boyfriend. I mean I doubt they are going to get married, they will probably break up eventually. My biggest problem is, how do I get her to see me as more then just her best friend?" He asked.  
  
"You have to do little things that who how much she means to you." Endy suggested.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Well, one thing you could do is make peace with her best friend."  
  
A look of confusion came over Jade's face for a moment until he realized what Endy meant. "You mean Serenity right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I don't know if I can do that. She seems hates me." He said.  
  
"She doesn't hate you!" Endy protested.  
  
"Yes she does! Look, you don't see it, whenever she sees me, or I come into the room, she cringes and either looks away or makes up some stupid excuse about why she has to leave. It's not worth upsetting her all the time. I should just leave it be, if she hates me, so be it." Jade said.  
  
"I am telling you she does not hate you!"  
  
"Yes she does!"  
  
"Who knows her better, you or me?" Endy pointed out.  
  
"Yeah but..."  
  
"No buts. You want to get Rei to see you as more than her best friend don't you?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well Serin is her best friend. And I bet you anything that it would mean a lot to Rei if the two of you were at least civil towards each other."  
  
"Yeah and I am sure it would make you just as happy." Jade pointed out.  
  
"Well it would be nice if my best friend and my girlfriend could be in the same room together with out one of you breaking down." Endy admitted.  
  
"Hey that's not my fault! It doesn't bother me to be around her. She's the one that flips out every time she sees me." Jade exclaimed.  
  
"Well it's not really her fault either. I mean she lost her twin brother! How could someone not feel remorse over that?"  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to blame her." He apologized.  
  
"Yeah I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to blame you." Endy apologized. "But you are going to talk to her right?"  
  
"I don't know. I'll try to ok?"  
  
"No! Go now, work it wout with her. Talk to her." He commanded.  
  
Jade sighed as he moved towards the door. "Fine but if she breaks down again I am holding you responsible."  
  
**************************  
  
Serin calmed her nerves and walked into the room. She spotted Jade sitting on the couch, and headed over to talk to him. The two were in a living room in the more secluded area of the Palace, and were currently the only ones there. "Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked, her quiet voice breaking the silence of the room.  
  
He whirled around surprised to see Princess Serenity standing there. "I'm not too sure why you want to, but go ahead."  
  
"I guess Rei and Endymion told you about my brother huh?" She asked taking a seat.  
  
"Yeah but Rei only told me because she wanted to explain why you ran off." He explained, hoping she would buy the lie.  
  
"It's ok. I'm not mad at her for it. I just wanted to let you know that I don't hate you because of it." She said softly.  
  
"I guess Endy told you about that huh?" Jade asked looking away.  
  
"Yeah but please don't get mad at him. If anything, you should get mad at me." Serin said.  
  
"You? Why should I be mad at you?" He asked looking over at her, and noticing that for the first time she didn't cringe and look away like she had all the times before.  
  
"'Cause I acted like such an idiot about this whole thing. I guess it was understandable when I first ran off out of shock, but I should have talked to you sooner than this. I just hope that you don't have some terrible impression of me now because I assure you, this is not the way that I usually am." She explained.  
  
"No I don't. To tell you the truth, I don't think I ever really thought that you were some terrible person because of all this. Especially because you are so close to Rei and Endymion, and they don't let to many people get close to them." He assured her. "I'm just glad you don't hate me. If you end up marrying Endy and move to Earth, or we all move here, it could get kinda awkward between us."  
  
"Does Endy really feel that serious about me?" She asked in awe.  
  
"I'm not really sure if this is my place to tell you, but he is head over heels for you. And I'm really happy for the two of you and I hope you stay together, you both deserve it. As long as you don't hurt him...what are you laughing about?" He asked.  
  
"Just how weird it is how much you and Rei are a like." She said.  
  
"And how is that?"  
  
"Well when Minako asked Rei if she could ask you out, Rei said the same thing, as long as you don't hurt him." She explained.  
  
Jade groaned. "Does that mean she is not going to break up with me?" He asked.  
  
"I take it you don't like her very much?" Serin asked grinning.  
  
"I probably shouldn't say anything. I know she is a close friend of yours and everything." He said.  
  
"It's ok. It's not like I'm going to tell her. Besides, I know she can be a little over eager and too perky sometimes."  
  
"Over eager? Too perky?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "Minako is the dullest and most boring person I have ever met in my life!"  
  
"Dull? Boring? No way! There are a lot of things you could call her, but dull and boring are not included in that." She argued. "That would almost be like calling Rei dull and boring."  
  
"No Rei is definitely not dull or boring." He said, his voice and face changing at the mention of Rei.  
  
Serin studied his face for a moment before gasping.  
  
"What is something wrong?" Jade asked in concern.  
  
"I can't believe I didn't realize it before! It's so obvious!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Didn't realize what? Would you tell me what's going on?" He asked impatiently.  
  
"You're in love with Rei."  
  
He blushed. "Did Endy tell you that too?" He asked.  
  
"So it's true?"  
  
"Please, you aren't going to tell anyone are you?" He pleaded.  
  
"Of course not. And by the way, Endy didn't tell me anything, you can just see it in your eyes when someone talks about her. So are you gonna ask her out?" She asked excitedly.  
  
"Serin, she has a boyfriend remember?" Jade asked.  
  
"Oh yeah Dave." She said frowning.  
  
"Have you ever met him?" He asked.  
  
"No. Actually, none of us have ever met him because he is always busy. Why?" She questioned.  
  
"I was just curious. I wanted to know how serious they are."  
  
"Well if I find out I'll tell you." She promised. "But what about if they break up. Then will you ask..."  
  
"Not right now I'm not going to." He said. "It would be too weird, I mean we haven't seen each other in so long, I feel like it would be kinda fast to just blurt out that I'm in love with her." He admitted.  
  
Serin shook her head. "No but you guys have kept in touch all these years, it wouldn't be that strange." She argued.  
  
Jade was about to respond when a wonderful idea popped into his head. "I just got the most perfect idea!" He exclaimed. "Thanks for all your help Serin. I gotta go talk to your mom and see if it's ok. Thanks again." He said running off.  
  
"Um, yeah, sure anytime, glad to help." Serin said.  
  
****************  
  
"Good evening Ami. I was wondering if you would like to take a walk? I have something I'd like to tell you."  
  
"Of course Zoisite. Is everything ok?" Ami asked in concern.  
  
"Everything will be fine once I talk to you." Zoisite said nervously.  
  
"Well let's talk then. Never mind the walk. Come sit down." She said pulling him into her room and closing the door behind her. She led him over to the couch.  
  
"In here?" He asked looking around the room.  
  
"Unless you would rather go somewhere else." She said, blushing furiously.  
  
"No actually, I'd like to stay here." He said pulling her down on the couch next to him and kissing her lightly.  
  
"What was it you wanted to tell me?" She asked.  
  
Zoisite took her hand, first bringing it to his lips and kissing it softly, then clasping it between his own hands. "I know that we haven't known each other for that long." He started. "But I have never felt like this about anyone before."  
  
"Neither have I." She confessed.  
  
"And I think that during the time we have known each other, we have become quite close. And even though I'm not sure what's going to happen to us once I go back to Earth, I do know that I don't want to lose what we have. I feel so strongly for you, but I'm not sure you are feeling what I am." He said.  
  
"What way?" Ami asked in confusion.  
  
"Ami, please don't get upset at me for saying this, but I love you."  
  
After a moment of silence, she replied. "That has to be the most insane thing anyone has ever said to me. It is the most impractical thing in the world." His face fell in disappointment and she smiled. "It is impractical because we live on two different planets, and yet we have fallen in love."  
  
His head shot up in surprise. "We?"  
  
"Yes, you see Zoisite, I love you too."  
  
He smiled back and kissed her. "I was hoping you would say that."  
  
****************  
  
"Goodnight my love." Zoisite said sweetly, kissing her goodnight as he left her room.  
  
"Good night." Ami said leaning against the door frame sighing blissfully.  
  
She moved to close the door when Makoto, Minako, Rei and Serin appeared in the doorway.  
  
"Hey Ames." Makoto said smiling at her.  
  
"I assume you are all here to talk?" She asked.  
  
"Of course. Do we do anything else?" Rei asked breezily.  
  
"So can we come in?" Minako asked.  
  
"Oh yeah, sure." She said closing the door behind them.  
  
"Ami, what was Zoisite doing in your room at this hour?" Serin asked grinning slyly.  
  
"Nothing. We were just talking." She stammered.  
  
The others all gave her look.  
  
"Come on Ames, we know you two are going out. There was more kissing then talking involved right?" Minako asked.  
  
"We did kiss a little." She admitted blushing.  
  
"Oooh Ami! That's so unlike you! I could see Rei doing that maybe but not you." Serin said.  
  
"Hey!" Rei exclaimed throwing a pillow at her.  
  
"Anyway." Makoto said as Serin and Rei started arguing.  
  
"What happened?" Minako asked.  
  
"He said that he loves me." She said.  
  
Rei and Serin immeaditly stopped fighting as all four of them, screamed.  
  
"Ohhhh that's so great!!" Serin cried.  
  
"Congrats! That's awesome." Rei said.  
  
Ami's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Well what about the rest of you? You all have boyfriends, haven't they said it yet?"  
  
"I don't actually have a boyfriend at the moment." Minako reminded them.  
  
"I don't really think Nephlite and I are that serious yet." Makoto said.  
  
"I think I'm in love with Endymion if that counts as anything." Serin volunteered.  
  
Rei however, was silent.  
  
"Rei, is there something you aren't telling us?" Minako asked.  
  
She blushed. "Dave said it to me."  
  
The four girls screamed in unison once again.  
  
*************************  
  
Jade and Nephlite walked by Ami's room and heard screams coming from inside.  
  
"What the hell?" Neph questioned.  
  
"Don't even bother questioning it. They're girls." Jade said as the two continued walking.  
  
*************************  
  
Serin immeaditly hugged her best friend. "That's so great! How come you didn't tell me?" She demanded.  
  
"He just said it for the first time today when he got back." She explained.  
  
"Oh right, the ball's over. It's safe for him to come back now." Makoto joked.  
  
"You know, we still haven't met him." Minako said.  
  
"Yeah what's up with that Rei?" Serin asked.  
  
"Hey its not my fault that he won't come to the balls and he is always busy!" She protested.  
  
"We aren't blaming you. If he means that much to you, we just want to meet him." Ami explained gently.  
  
"Yeah what she said." Serin said.  
  
"I'll try to get him to come to one of the balls so you guys can all meet him ok?" Rei asked. "Anyway, so Minako, did you ask Jed out yet?"  
  
It was Minako's turn to blush. "Not really." She said.  
  
"Minako!!!" Makoto exclaimed.  
  
"Nani!?" She asked.  
  
"You should ask him out so that for the next ball the two of you can come together." Serin said, momentarily forgetting his opinion on the Venus princess.  
  
"Yeah I agree." Rei said.  
  
"Look I'm working on it ok?"  
  
**********************  
  
A pair off glowing red eyes slowly moved away from the crystal as the body they belonged to sat back in the throne. "It seems I am somewhat late. He has already succumbed to that brat. No worry. I want him to fight in my army, and right now, he's a weakling, and he will give in easily. All I need is a little bait, and that sailor brat gave me the perfect idea of how to capture him. Love. What a waste of time. Only makes you easier to break down. And he will break down. He will be mine. Once his training is complete, he'll crush that little brat without a second thought; laughing at her pleads and her lies about love." An evil laughter filled the room growing in intensity the more she thought about it.  
  
**********************  
  
"What is it you want to do?" Queen Serenity asked in surprise.  
  
"I want to invite Queen Victoria of Mars to the palace." Jade repeated.  
  
"What reason could you possibly have for doing that?" She asked.  
  
"Well the main reason is because Rei hasn't talked to her mom in over five years."  
  
"And the other reason?"  
  
"Because I doubt neither you nor Serin have seen her in about 17 years."  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"You don't have to hide it. Rei told me. I know you and Victoria are sisters." He explained.  
  
"Never mind then. But let me ask you something. Do you really think that Rei is going to be willing to talk to her mom? There is a reason why she hasn't talked to her in five years." She pointed out gently.  
  
"I know. And I know that if you ask her if she ever wanted to see her mom again, she would say no. But I also know that she would be lying. Regardless of what she says, I know she misses her mom and wants to make up with her; she just doesn't know how to go about doing it. I promise you though that if Victoria comes, Rei will talk to her." He said in determination.  
  
"Well it seems that you have this whole thing figured out. Why even bother asking me?" Serenity asked.  
  
"Well for one reason, I figured it would help to get your permission before I invited people to your house. And also because I wasn't sure if you wanted to see her or talk to her." Jade explained.  
  
"You were right that I haven't talked to her in almost 17 years. The last time I saw or talked to her was 13 years ago, when Rei's father passed away. But I can't stay mad at her forever, and it would be nice to see her again, so if you are really that serious about this, I'll send a message asking her to visit." She said.  
  
"Thank you so much." He exclaimed. "Oh, there is just one other thing, could you not tell Rei about this?"  
  
Serenity looked at him suspiciously. "Are you sure that there isn't some other reason that you are doing this? Something other then because Rei is your best friend and you want her to be happy?" She asked.  
  
"I'm sure." He said, his voice confident, though there was a faint blush on his cheeks.  
  
"Even though I still don't believe you, I'll let it go. If you don't want me to say anything to her, than I won't."  
  
His face broke into a smile. "Thanks." He said before bowing and leaving the room.  
  
She sighed shaking her head as he left the room. "Teenagers."  
  
***********************  
  
"Hey Serin! Wait up." Endy called as he spotted her walking through the hallway.  
  
She turned around and noticed Endymion behind her. "Hey." She said smiling sweetly at him.  
  
"Did you talk to Jade?" He asked.  
  
"Yes I did. Everything is fine between us. Hey, did you know he's in love with Rei?" Serin asked.  
  
"Yeah, did he tell you that?" He asked in surprise.  
  
"No. I said something about Rei, and his whole appearance changes. You can tell that he loves her very much." She said taking hold of Endy's hand.  
  
"You aren't going to tell her right?" He asked.  
  
"Of course not, but I do hope they get together, they are the perfect pair. It would so romantic." She said dreamily.  
  
"You are such a romantic." He said laughing.  
  
Serin let go of his hand as she glared at him and walked a few steps ahead. "There is nothing wrong with being romantic." She said.  
  
He stopped laughing but smiled at her, "I never said it was a bad thing."  
  
Her breath caught in her throat as he caught up to her once again and took her hand in his; interlacing their fingers and pushed her body against the wall.  
  
He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "You know what?"  
  
"What?" She asked softly.  
  
"Jade's not the only one in love." Endy said mysteriously.  
  
"Oh really?" She questioned.  
  
"I think I'm in love with someone too." He whispered, his breath tickling her ear.  
  
"Oh I get it now. You've been seeing someone behind my back, and now you are going to tell me how in love with her you are?" She asked laughing.  
  
That laugh. Sweet. Light. Sincere. Innocent. Trusting. Lovable. "Serin," He said, his voice becoming husky and low. He gazed at her face and allowed his midnight blue eyes to become lost in her sky colored ones. "Every time I look into your eyes, hold your hand, caress your face, listen to you talk, or hear you laugh, I realize just how lucky I am to have found you. And I realize how much I love you."  
  
"And you say I'm to romantic?" She asked putting her arms around him, their gazes still locked, as she said the four words she had waited her whole life to say. "I love you too."  
  
**********************  
  
Jade spotted Rei as soon as she entered the room. Calming his nerves he started towards her, and ran into Minako.  
  
"Hey Jade." She said greeting him warmly.  
  
"Hi Minako. Look I'm really sorry but I don't have time to talk right now. I'm kinda in a hurry." He said, keeping his gaze on Rei.  
  
"That's ok. I just wanted to ask you if you would like to go out sometime?" She asked nervously.  
  
"What?" He asked finally turning his eyes away from the dark haired beauty. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."  
  
"I just asked if maybe you'd like to go out sometime." She repeated.  
  
"Yeah sure. I'd love to." He lied. "But right now I really gotta go so I'll talk to you later ok?" He said running off.  
  
"So I'll talk to you about it later then." Minako called after him.  
  
*********************  
  
Jade quietly walked up behind Rei and softly said to her, "So when do I get to meet this boyfriend of yours?" He tried best he could to keep his voice calm, despite the fact that his heart was racing just being near her.  
  
She jumped. "Oh God Jed! You scared me!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Well then my job here is done." He said smirking at her.  
  
"Oh be quiet. And if you want, you can meet Dave right now. He's over there."  
  
He looked over to where she was waving. "Sure why not?"  
  
"Hey." Rei said smiling once the two made their way across the room.  
  
"Hey yourself." Someone, who Jade assumed to be Dave, responded. "What's up?" He asked kissing her.  
  
"There's someone I want you to meet. You remember my best friend Jed, who I've been telling you about? The one I've known forever?" She asked.  
  
"Of course I remember." He said.  
  
"Well this is him." She said grabbing his hand and pulling him closer.  
  
Jade could barely focus his thoughts enough to speak. "Hi."  
  
"Guys this is Jed, known to most as Jade. Jed this is Dave and his two idiotic friends, Jeff and Mike." She introduced, pointing to the two people behind Dave who Jade noticed for the first time.  
  
"Yeah it's nice to see you to Rei." Jeff said sarcastically.  
  
"I don't think we deserved that. Dave, are you going to let her talk to us like that?" Mike complained.  
  
"Yes. You two are idiots." He said pulling her closer.  
  
"Told you so." She said smiling.  
  
"Hey did you ask Minako yet?" Jeff asked.  
  
"Ask her what?" Mike questioned.  
  
"Who the hell is Minako?" Dave asked in confusion.  
  
"Minako is a friend of mine who Jeff met and now wants to sleep with, and he wants me to ask her if she is interested in him." Rei said rolling her eyes.  
  
"You should see her man. She is sooooo hot." Jeff said.  
  
"Yeah she is pretty hot." Mike agreed.  
  
'And incredibly boring.' Jade thought silently.  
  
"And I didn't ask her because she is interested in someone already." Rei said.  
  
"Yeah but are they going out?"  
  
"I don't know. Hey Jed, is Minako going out with that guy she likes?" She asked, a small smiling playing on her lips.  
  
"She asked him out earlier and I'm pretty sure he said yes." Jade admitted.  
  
"Damn." Jeff said.  
  
"Oh like you can't find someone else in like two seconds." Rei said.  
  
"Rei, are you coming onto me?" Jeff asked. "And in front of your boyfriend and everything. I mean could you at least wait until later when no one is around? I realize I'm hot and all but still."  
  
"Yeah right. Please, don't disgust me." She said rolling her eyes.  
  
"Wait, how come Jeff and Mike have met your friends, and I haven't?" Dave asked, still stuck on that part of the conversation.  
  
"The only person that they have met is Minako. And they only know her because I was walking somewhere with her, and I ran into them. The reason that you have not met any of my friends is because you are always busy. Maybe if you came to one of the balls..." Rei said meaningfully.  
  
"You really want me to come to one of those huh?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah I really do." She said.  
  
"Tell you what. If it really means that much to you, the next ball that the Queen has, I will be there." He said.  
  
"Really?" She asked, her eyes lighting up.  
  
"Really." He said kissing her lightly. "And I'll meet all your friends ok?"  
  
"Ok, but now I have to go." She said.  
  
"Go? You just got here ten minutes ago." Dave protested.  
  
"I know but I only came in here because I was looking for Serin. She has some major important thing to tell me, so I have to find her." Rei explained.  
  
"I was hoping we could..." His voice was muffled as he whispered something in her ear.  
  
"Dave!" She exclaimed laughing.  
  
"Hey could you to do your little making out talk some other time? Like when no one else is here perhaps?" Mike asked.  
  
The two ignored him and continued talking. "I would love to stay but I really gotta go." She said.  
  
"Do I at least get a kiss good-bye?" He asked.  
  
"Of course you do." She said kissing him long and deep.  
  
Jade looked away in jealousy. 'What I wouldn't do to be in his place.' He thought.  
  
After a few minutes passed Jeff sighed loudly. "Hello? Are you two not human? Do you not need oxygen?" He asked.  
  
"Shut up Jeff." The two said in unison as they broke apart.  
  
"I'll see you later, ok? Love you." Rei said. "Oh and please talk to Jed? It would mean a lot to me if the two of you were friends." She whispered to him.  
  
"I promise. I love you too." He said.  
  
"I have to talk to you Jed, so I'll catch up with you later ok? And if you see Serin would you tell her I'm looking for her? Thanks! Bye!" She called as she left.  
  
As soon as Rei was out of sight Jeff and Mike started laughing.  
  
"Man Davie are you whipped." Jeff said laughing.  
  
"Yeah and that whole 'love thing'?" Mike asked.  
  
"Well she's right about at least one thing. You two are idiots. The only reason that I told her I love her is because the sooner she things we are in love, the sooner I get to sleep with her." Dave snapped.  
  
"What if she still doesn't want to?" Jeff asked.  
  
"Yeah than what?" Mike echoed.  
  
"I don't know. I'll pull a prove your love thing. She's younger, and thinks she's in love, she'll fall for it." He said nonchalantly.  
  
"You told her you love her, when you really don't?" Jade asked, just getting his voice back from the shock of this conversation.  
  
"What difference does it make to you?" Dave asked turning to him.  
  
"Are you only going out to sleep with her?" He asked angrily.  
  
"Well seeing as you put it so nicely, I might as well tell you that yes, the only reason I even asked her out was to sleep with her. Well that and the fact that she is gorgeous."  
  
"So basically your whole relationship is a lie? That's screwed up man." Jade said in disgust.  
  
"Oh come on, tons of people only go out with someone to sleep with them." Jeff said, starting to feel uncomfortable about this whole thing.  
  
"Yeah but most people aren't lied to through out the entire relationship." He shot back.  
  
"Look, what is the big deal? So I told her I love her even though I don't. What's the worst that could happen, we break up?" Dave questioned.  
  
"You don't understand. You don't know her like I do. None of you realize how much it means to her to have people love her. She doesn't let many people get close, and if they do get close, and they hurt her, she loses a lot of faith that she has in people." Jade said.  
  
"Oh come on. One person isn't going to kill her. I mean she's got family and everything right?" Mike asked.  
  
'This really isn't my place to tell you, but she really doesn't have a family. She's an only child, her father died when she was four years old, and she hasn't talked to her mom in over five years. I don't really consider that much of a loving family." He explained.  
  
"Look I don't need a lecture from you ok?" Dave sneered. "I know the only reason that you are so worked up about this is because you now expect me to break up with Rei because I feel bad. Then once she is single again, you can go out with her."  
  
"What are you talking about?" He asked, trying to act confused.  
  
"Oh like I didn't see the way that you were looking at her? Or the jealousy on your face when I held her and kissed her." Dave said smiling.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jade said uncomfortably.  
  
"It's ok if you don't want to admit it, but face the facts. Rei is mine. Not yours. And she never will be. She'll always see you as her best friend, the one who comforts her when something happens. The one person who has always been there to hug her and tell her everything will be all right. You aren't the one she runs to to kiss hello, or smiles at lovingly. You're her best friend, and nothing more. And that is the way it always has been, and always will be." Dave said.  
  
Jade stood there, unable to respond.  
  
"And don't even think of telling her any of this." Mike said. "Even if she is your best friend."  
  
"Come to think of it, how are you such good friends with her? I mean, how can you stand her most of the time? She's so bitchy." Dave said.  
  
"Well even if I didn't believe it before, I definitely do now. You obviously are only going out with her to sleep with her. I doubt you even listen to anything she says. Because if you did, you would realize that Rei is the kindest, most loving, wonderful person you will ever meet. I hope you realize that when you throw it all away. And the only reason she comes across as bitchy to you, is because you guys are fucking ass holes." Jade said, his voice shaking in anger, before walking away.  
  
"Whoa, someone's got some problems." Dave said as he and Mike started laughing.  
  
Jeff however, didn't join in this time. "You know guys, maybe he's right." He said slowly.  
  
The other two stopped laughing and turned to look at him. "You aren't going soft on me are you?" Dave asked.  
  
"It's not that, but what he said made a lot of sense. Maybe it isn't fair to do this to her." He said.  
  
"Jeff, weren't you planning on doing the same thing with Minako if she had agreed to go out with you?" Mike asked.  
  
"Yeah, but now I feel bad about that too. But especially about what we're doing to Rei. I don't think she deserves this." He said.  
  
"I'm really not doing anything that terrible. She wants someone to love her, she thinks I do, I promised to meet her friends, I listen to her problems. I mean, I'm here for her." Dave said.  
  
"But you don't do any of that because you really want to. You are only doing it for your own goals." He pointed out.  
  
"So what are you saying I should do, break up with her?" Dave asked.  
  
"I don't know. I just think she deserves something better than what you are doing to her. Better than this whole relationship. I don't know what, but just something better." Jeff said softly.  
  
Translations:  
  
Nani: What?  
  
Review please!!! More to come soon. 


	10. Chapter 9

Thank you again for all of the wonderful reviews, please keep them coming, I love getting them! And to Lauren: is the address for the site where all of my stories reside. I can't update it any more though, so anything new that I will ever write that is not already on there, FF.Net will be the best and most updated place to get it. As for Ever Forever Ever, I'm working on crazy like chapter 5 and I know nothing could be worth the wait I've put everyone through, but I do think its turning out quite good, and I think everyone will be quite pleased. It will be out eventually I promise! Enjoy the chapter!  
  
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter Nine  
  
By MCRK  
  
******************************  
  
'Serin where *are* you?' Rei wondered desperately as she rounded the corner of the hallway and ran into Makoto.  
  
"Hey Rei." She said.  
  
"Hi. Have you seen Serin anywhere?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah. I just passed her. She asked that if I saw you to tell you that she will be in her room." Makoto answered.  
  
"Thanks!" Rei said heading towards Serin's room. Once there she knocked on the door.  
  
"Come in." The voice called from inside.  
  
"Hey. What's up?" Rei asked walking into the room.  
  
Serin threw down the book she was reading and jumped up excitedly. "Where have you been?" She asked. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"  
  
"I've been looking for you! And then I ran into Jed, and Dave." She explained. "So what is it you needed to tell me?"  
  
Serin closed the door and motioned for Rei to join her on the bed. "Well I was on my way to talk to my mom, and I ran into Endymion. And he was asking if I had talked to Jade, oh yeah, we're friends now, and anyway, we were talking, and then he told me he loves me!" She exclaimed happily. The two screamed in excitement.  
  
*************************  
  
Nephlite passed Serin's room on his way to meet Makoto and heard screaming. He shook his head. 'Don't they ever do anything other then scream?' He thought. 'Well then again, I guess we contribute to it. And I have a feeling that if Makoto tells them what I'm about to ask her, they are all gonna scream...again.'  
  
*************************  
  
"That's so great!" Rei cried. "Tell me everything that happened."  
  
"Well I said something about--" She stopped realizing that what she had said, was the one thing she couldn't tell Rei. "Well it was some thing about romance. And then he said that I was to romantic. But then when I got angry, he grabbed me and he started telling me that he was in love with someone. And then he said that every time he listened to me talk, or laugh, or looked into my eyes, he remembered how lucky he was, and how much he loves me."  
  
"That is so romantic!" Rei exclaimed. 'So why is it that when Dave said he loved me, it was nothing like that?' She wondered silently.  
  
"I've been dying to tell someone, but I wanted you to be the first to know." She explained. "Even though I wasn't the first to know when Dave said it to you..." She added meaningfully.  
  
"Look I'm sorry. But he said it for the first time right before we went to Ami's to talk. There was no way that I could have told you first." Rei explained.  
  
"I know, don't worry about it." She said  
  
"Ren, how do you feel when you're around Endymion?" She paused. "I mean I know you love him, but what do feel when you're around him?" Rei asked softly.  
  
Serin gave her a weird look before responding. "Well you know what it's like. I mean, I love him so much, and when I'm near him, I feel like everything is right. I feel like my life finally has a purpose, that someone really loves me in *that way* and it's just the best feeling in the world. It's almost indescribable. It's the feeling of being in love, a totally incredible feeling that is like nothing else in the world. But, isn't that how you feel when you're around Dave? I mean, seeing as the two of you are in love." She asked.  
  
"Of course I do." She replied hastily. "Rei, are you ok? Is there something you aren't telling me?" Serin asked peering closely at her.  
  
"No really I'm fine." She assured her, forcing a smile. 'Except for the fact that I don't think my boyfriend really loves me, and I'm not too sure I love him any more.' She thought silently.  
  
"Ok. If you say so." She said uncertainly. "So what's up with you otherwise?"  
  
"Nothing really. Hey did you know that Minako asked Jed out finally?" She questioned.  
  
"She did? Finally! What did he say?" Serin asked.  
  
"He said yes."  
  
"How do you know that though? I thought Minako was at the training grounds?"  
  
"I guess she is. I really don't know. But I ran into Jed. And then we were talking to Jeff, the one that likes Minako, and he asked if she was going out with anyone, so I asked Jed, and he said that he was going out with her and then Jeff--"  
  
"Wait Rei, slow down." Serin said interrupting her. "Are you talking about Dave's friend Jeff?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"So Jade met him?"  
  
"And Dave."  
  
"He met Dave?" Serin asked in surprise.  
  
"Yeah. You aren't mad because he met him before you are you? It was only cause they both happened to be there. Please don't be mad." Rei pleaded.  
  
"Don't worry I'm not." She said dazed. 'Oh God I feel terrible for Jade! I forgot to tell him that Dave told Rei that he loves her. He must have found out though from the two of them.'  
  
"But, you'll get to meet Dave soon. He promised that the next time your mom has a ball, he'll come so he can meet all of you." Rei said.  
  
"It's about time." She said.  
  
"Yeah yeah I know." The two were interrupted by a knock on the door.  
  
"Come in." Serin called.  
  
One of the palace's servants walked into the room. "The Queen has requested the presence of Princess Rei. There is some one here who wishes to see her. She also asks that the Princess Serenity comes." The servant said.  
  
"Did the Queen say who it was?" Rei questioned.  
  
The servant shook her head. "She just asked that the two of you join her as soon as possible in the throne room, and preferably alone."  
  
"Thank you. Please tell her we will be right there." Serin said nodding.  
  
The servant bowed respectively before closing the door once again.  
  
"I wonder who could possibly be here to see me?" Rei asked as the two stood.  
  
"Most everyone I know is already here. And it's not like my mom would be visiting."  
  
"Well we might as well go and see ne?" Serin said as the two headed out.  
  
*************************  
  
Makoto shifted her weight back and forth from foot to foot, as she waited for Nephlite impatiently. 'Where is he?' She wondered. 'It's not like him to be late.' At that moment there was a knock at her door. Breathing a sigh of relief she went to answer it, and, once she discovered it was Nephlite, let him in.  
  
"Good Afternoon My Lady." He said pressing his lips softly against hers for a brief exchange of passion.  
  
"Good afternoon." She said, blushing slightly at his welcoming. "Please come in," She said holding the door after him. She offered him a seat on the couch and joined him a moment later, after closing the door.  
  
"Your room is very beautiful. Who ever designed it has a wonderful sense of decoration." He commented looking around the room.  
  
"Actually, I did it." She admitted shyly.  
  
He looked at her in surprise. "You have quite an artistic sense."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"But as I am sure you have guessed I did not come here to compliment your room, which is not nearly as beautiful as it's occupant." He pointed out.  
  
"So you only come to compliment me so you can get me to agree to something huh?" She teased.  
  
He laughed lightly. "Never My Lady! I never need a reason to come see you, talking to you is enough of a reason."  
  
"Yeah yeah, just get on with the question already." She said laughing.  
  
"Well it's not quite that easy." He started.  
  
"What could possibly be such a big deal that you can't ask me?" Makoto questioned. "Aren't you just going to ask me to be your girlfriend or whatever?"  
  
"Not exactly."  
  
"Oh." She said her face falling.  
  
Nephlite smiled at he reaction. "I assure you, my question is much better than that." Taking one finger he gently reached over and placed in under her chin; and with the strength needed to move a cloud, he lifted her head up and stared into her emerald green eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that you have eyes the color of the rainbow?" He said softly.  
  
"I think you're the first to say that." She said, trying to keep her heart beating, despite the fact that it had long ago melted.  
  
"Well, you have the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen. A black cat, dark as night, with green eyes, pure as emeralds would be no match against yours."  
  
"Arigato."  
  
"I have, a very important question to ask you, but," He hesitated for a moment, "I'm not sure what you'll say."  
  
It was then for the first time, since he had come in the room, did Makoto realize that his left hand was behind his back. "Is everything all right?" She asked in alarm.  
  
He chuckled lightly. "Every thing is fine my dear."  
  
"So what is it you need to ask me?" She questioned, growing uneasy about this whole thing. Either something incredibly wonderful was about to happen, or something absolutely horrifying. Her thoughts automatically went to the latter.  
  
"Makoto, I realize that I never even told you that I love you, so the first thing that I must say is that I love you, more than anything in this universe. Not many people affect me the way that you did, and I love everything about you, right down to the way your eyes sparkle when you laugh. That having been said," He paused for a moment to pull his hand out from behind his back. In it there was a small black velvet box.  
  
'OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!' Makoto's mind screamed as she saw the box.  
  
He flipped it open to reveal a gorgeous, brightly shining ring. It was gold, and met in a V at the front. In the middle was a large diamond, and surrounding it on both sides were jewels; green emeralds, that matched the shade of her eyes exactly.  
  
"Oh...My...God." She whispered, voicing her thoughts.  
  
Nephlite slid off the couch onto one knee and held the box up to her, as he said the words that every teenage girl dreams of hearing, "Makoto, will you marry me?"  
  
*************************  
  
"So you decided to come after all."  
  
Victoria whirled around to see who had spoken, and came face to face with her past. "Serenity." She said softly, her breath catching in her throat.  
  
"Victoria." She said addressing her.  
  
"Are you still mad at me?" She asked in a small voice.  
  
"I'm not really sure anymore."  
  
"If it helps any, I want you to know I'm sorry, for everything that I've put everyone through."  
  
"It's not that simple anymore. I mean, you can't just apologize, and everything is fine." Serenity said.  
  
"I know. But it's not like I can go back and change the past. What's done is done."  
  
"If you could, would you have told her? If you could relive your life over, would you have told Rei about this whole thing?" She asked.  
  
"Truthfully, I don't know that I would have." Victoria admitted.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Serenity asked angrily. "You just apologized, and yet, you wouldn't change things. How dare you stand there and admit that you would put your daughter and the others through the same torture twice. And for your own needs."  
  
"How dare me?" Victoria asked, her voice shaking. "What right do you have to stand there and yell at me about how I put my 'daughter and the others through the same torture twice.' What about me?" She demanded.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Serenity asked in confusion.  
  
"In you whole fit of anger over the years did you ever once stop and think how I felt about this whole thing? Of course not because if you had, you would have realized that this was just as much torture on me as it was for Rei. So don't even tell me about putting everyone else through torture because of my own needs." Victoria exclaimed.  
  
"What torture? There was no--" Serenity started.  
  
"I'll tell you the torture I went through." She said cutting her off. "Your husband has just passed away. And you find out that when your daughter is 12 years old, she has to leave, to go live on another planet to protect someone's else's daughter. And your sister's no less!" She exclaimed.  
  
"I don't consider that torture." Serenity said coldly.  
  
"You wouldn't because you never went through it. You've had your daughter with you from the day she was born and you will be with her until the day you die. I, on the other hand, have not seen my daughter in five years. And not even because she is angry with me. Because she's been too busy protecting your precious daughter."  
  
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Serenity said quietly.  
  
"Well I do. I mean explain this to me, why is it that your daughter is so different then the others? So she's the Princess of the Moon? So what? Are the other guards not princesses of their planets as well? So why is it that they have to give up their lives to protect your daughter? And yet, this has never happened before. This is the first generation where the other princesses had to do this. So explain to me, why this is." Victoria said.  
  
"Are you accusing me of making this whole thing up?" Serenity exclaimed.  
  
"I'm not accusing you of anything. I just want to know why that is."  
  
"If you really want to know, I'll tell you. As you know, all the girls can each control an element. Serin, however, doesn't really control any one element. She was born with what is called the power of the moon. And it has happened before, over one hundred years ago. This means that she is able to control more power than the most powerful magi. When she was born it was foretold that when she was a young adult, an evil force would attack. A force so great that the only ones who will even have a chance to defeat it will be Serenity, Endymion, and their guardians. Therefore they must live together and practice together daily in order to prepare themselves for the darkness. And they must protect the Princess, because only she has the ultimate attack of the Silver Crystal." Serenity explained quietly.  
  
Victoria was silent for a moment. "Well I guess I look like a total idiot again."  
  
Serenity didn't respond.  
  
"Well I just have on thing I wanted to ask you, and then if you like you can go back to hating me." She hesitated for a moment before asking, "How's Rei?"  
  
"She's fine. She knows that her and Serin are cousins and the two are inseparable. She's happy here."  
  
Victoria did not miss the deeper meaning in that last sentence,. 'She's happy here. She's happy here. She's Happy Here. She's Happy Here. She's Happy *HERE*.' The words slammed into her mind a hundred times over until they brought the gentle sting of tears to her eyes. "Well then I guess I'm just interrupting the happiness that everyone has here. I'm sorry I wasted your time." She turned and ran towards the door but was stopped by the voice.  
  
"Vicki wait."  
  
She turned around slowly to see Serenity catch up to her. "You haven't called me Vicki since we were little kids." She whispered.  
  
"Yeah I know. I din't mean the comments like that. And, I wanted to tell you, that if it's ok with you, I liked to go back to being best friends, like we were when we were little kids." Serenity said offering her an apologetic smile.  
  
"Do you really mean that?"  
  
"Yeah I do." She said hugging her tightly.  
  
"Thank you Renny. And I really am sorry." Victoria said, tears streaking her cheeks.  
  
"You know, I always hated that nickname." Serenity commented.  
  
"I know." She said smiling at her.  
  
"So," She said letting her sister go, "How would you like to talk to Rei?"  
  
*************************  
  
"I can't believe she is actually going out with that jerk! How could she really love him? Oh God I'm so stupid!" Jade exclaimed angerly to himself.  
  
His thoughts were interupted when Endymion walked into the room. "Hey Jade, you ok?" He asked as he watched his friend, for what seemed like the millionth time, pace back and forth in frustration.  
  
"He is a complete ass hole!" He exclaimed.  
  
"Who is?" Endy asked in confusions as he closed the door.  
  
"Dave. Her wonderful boyfriend." He responded sarcastically.  
  
"Oh so you met him huh?" Endy asked, knowing he was referring to Re's boyfriend.  
  
"He is just the biggest jerk, and I can not for the life of me, figure out what she sees in him. And you want to know the worst part? She's in love with him!" Jade exclaimed.  
  
"Well maybe she isn't really in love with him. Maybe it's just infatuation but it looks like love." He suggested.  
  
Jade stopped pacing for a moment to glare at him. "They both said it."  
  
"Oh ok, never mind then."  
  
"But it's not even that. I mean I could handle them being in love if he was a decent guy then I would even possibly be happier for her I mean of course I would be happier if it was me, but as long as she was happy then it would almost even be ok."  
  
"Jade, you're babbling." Endy said gently. "Just tell me what happened."  
  
"Ok. I met him, and he was all like whatever, no big deal. Then as she was leaving she was like, 'I love you,' and he was like, 'I love you too.' So that was the first shock, cause I had no idea that the two were in love. But then as she leaves, his two friends started laughing at him and making fun of him. And it turns out that the only reason he is going out with her, is because she is gorgeous, and because he wants to sleep with her." Jade explained.  
  
"Are you sure he's only going out with her to sleep with he? Maybe you just misread what they were saying?" Endy suggested.  
  
"I asked him, 'Are you only going out with her to sleep with her?' And he said yes. And he also said that the only reason that he even told her he loves her was so she would sleep with him sooner. God he's such an ass hole!" Jade exclaimed angerly banging his fist against the wall.  
  
"You know Jade, as much as I hate to say this, it is her life. And she may be ready to be intimate with him, and there is nothing you can do to stop that." Endymion pointed out gently.  
  
"I know." He said. "But, still I feel like, like it's not right. I love her so much, and it's so hard to stand by and watch her fall in love with some guy, who really doesn't love her."  
  
"I know, but's it's something you have to do. She has to learn about him on her own. You can't interfere."  
  
"It's no like Iwas planning on telling her. I don't want to be responsible for their break up. But it's just, oh I don't know. Never mind. You wouldn't understand." Jade said sighing and turning away.  
  
"What were you going to say?"  
  
"It's just well, you're in love with Serin right?" He asked.  
  
Endy nodded his head.  
  
"And how do you feel about her? Like everytime you are around her?"  
  
Endy could see where this was going, and he waited for Jade to respond to his own question first.  
  
"Do you miss her every waking moment? A feeling where love doesn't describe it anymore, there is no word big enough to explain how you feel for her?  
  
Endy nodded. "I feel that way about Serin."  
  
"And it's the best most wonderful feeling you've ever had right?" Jade continued.  
  
He nodded again.  
  
"And what makes it twice as wonderful is if you know the person feels the same way about you also right?"  
  
He nodded yet a third time.  
  
"Well imagine if you felt that way, and yet, you didn't know how the other person felt. They only see you as their best friend, nothing more. Imagine what it must feel like to have to talk to that person and look at them every day, without ever telling them how you really feel. And you have to stand back and watch them while they fall for someone else; someone who doesn't even really love them. How would you feel then?" Jade asked.  
  
Endy swallowed hard before answereing. "I would have to say that that would be the mnost horrible feeling in the world. To feel so strongly about someone, and to not know how they feel about you, or if they even know how you feel about them" He admitted.  
  
"Yeah I figured that's what you'd say." Jade said. "Well guess what? While you're imagining what that would feel like, and all the pain it would bring, I'm living it. And I have been every day since I set foot on the Moon. So don't tell me that I have to 'let her learn on her own'. Because I can't do that. I can't stand seeing her hurt. And I'm going to do the best I can to some how, let her know what he's really like. So please, until you go through what I am, don't offer me advice on leaving her alone." With that said he turned and left the room, leaving Endy sitting there in complete shock.  
  
************************  
  
Rei and Serin were about to walk into the throne room to meet the Queen when they ran into her.  
  
"Hey mom. We were just coming to talk to you." Serin said.  
  
"Yes I know. I figured it would be bettr to meet you out here first and explain to you what's going on first." Serenity said.  
  
"Is anything wrong Aunt Serenity?" Rei asked in concern.  
  
"Everything's fine honey, but, wwell I assume that you were told that someone was here to see you?" She asked uneasily.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well their waiting inside, so why don't you go ahead and talk to them. I just need to talk to Serin for a moment." Serenity said giving her a slight push towards the door.  
  
"Are you sure everything's ok?" Rei asked uncertainly.  
  
"Everything's fine." She responded with a fake smile.  
  
"Ok. If you say so." Rei said as she went insude the throne room leaving Serenity and Serin outside.  
  
"Who is it that's here? Cause Rei and I were both trying to figure it out. Because she said most everyone that she knew was here, and it's not like Aunt Victoria would come to visit..." Her voice trailed off as she saw the look on her mother's face. "Oh God, it is Aunt Victoria isn't it?" She asked.  
  
Serenity nodded. "But I was afraid that if I told Rei who it was, then she wouldn't go in. And the two of them really need to talk."  
  
"Well now she did, so now what do we do?"  
  
"Give them some time alone. Rei hasn't talked to her mother in over five years, and she is still very angry at her. And then later, I'll introduce the two of you." Serenity said leading her away.  
  
************************  
  
She didn't say anything for a moment, just staring at the person, still in shock that she was actually here. "Why are you here?" She asked finally.  
  
"Well according to Serenity, Jeadite thought that it was time the two of us talked, so he asked the her to invite me to visit." Victoria explained.  
  
"Jeadite? Jed set this whole thing up?" Rei exclaimed. "I'm gonna kill him."  
  
"Don't get mad at him. He was right, we should have talked about this whole thing a long time ago."  
  
"Yeah, twelve years ago when I was old enough to understand why I could do that." Rei said sharply.  
  
"Please, would you just let me explain?" Victoria pleaded.  
  
She was silent.  
  
"Thank you. I know, that you probably hate me, and I know that I deserve it. And I am sorry for everything that I put you through, but there was a reason." Victoria explained.  
  
"What reason would that be?"  
  
"The fact that I didn't want to lose you. I mean, your father had just died, and then I found out that I had to lose my baby too? It was almost to much to bear."  
  
"But you would never have really lost me." Rei pointed out.  
  
"I know, but it wouldn't have been the same. I know that this doesn't really make much sense, but I felt like if I had told you, I would have been losing you sooner. I mean, tell me the truth, if you had known that you were one of Serenity's guardians, and that she was your cousin, would you not have been here constantly? Wouldn't you have been desperatly waiting until the time when you would be able to come live here?"  
  
She was quiet for a moment. "You know, I'm not really sure. I'm sure I would have been excited, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't miss you!"  
  
"It's just that, you were all I had left, and I didn't want to lose you too. I know that I was a terrible mother, and I know that I knew really nothing about you, and I know that I was never there for you, but you were my baby girl! And even if I didn't show it that much I loved you more then anything! And I couldn't stand the thought of you moving away at such a young age." Victoria said. "But I know that that sounds incredibly stupid, and I don't blame you if you still hate me."  
  
"No it doesn't. And truithfully, I don't hate you and I never did." Rei said.  
  
"You sure about that?"  
  
"Yes! I mean, true, you didn't know me very well, and we weren't always there for each other, but you were my mom, and you still are. And I love you now as much as I did then. I could never fully hate you." She said, tears starting to run down her cheeks.  
  
"Oh Rei, I'm so sorry for everything that I put you through." Victoria said, who was also starting to cry.  
  
"I missed you so much." Rei said running into her mother's arms.  
  
"I missed you too." She said stroking her daughter's hair.  
  
"I'm so sorry, for not talking to you before now." Rei cried.  
  
"No sweetie, don't blame yourself. If I had told you about this whole thing sooner, we would have never have had this problem in the first place." Victoria said.  
  
"How about we just put this behind us and not talk about it anymore?" She suggested.  
  
"That's sounds like a wonderful idea." Victoria said pulling away as the two sat down. "So, what's been going on in your life in the past five years?"  
  
*************************  
  
Makoto sat there speechless.  
  
"Makoto?" Nephlite questioned.  
  
"I'm sorry. Did you just propose to me?" She asked, unsure that she had heard right. "Ok joke's over. Very funny though, but who else is in on this? Are Jade and endy hiding behind the curtains or something to see my reaction?" She asked getting up to check.  
  
"Makoto, this isn't a joke." Nephlite said stopping her. "I know this is sudden and all, but I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."  
  
"Nephlite, I love you too, but isn't this kinda quick? I mean we have only even known each other, what one month?" She asked.  
  
"I know I know. And if you feel completly different, I'll understand. But this just feels so right. The happiest moments in my life right now are the ones that I spend with you. And that's not enough anymore. I want to spend every waking and sleeping moments with you. I want to wake up with you next to me every morning and fall asleep with you at my side every night. I want to be with you, in every sense of the word, Makoto I love you, nothing will ever change that."He said passionatly. "But, I do understand if you don't feel the same way." He added, almost dejectedly.  
  
She reached a hand up and wiped away the mositure of happiness from her eyes. "I do feel the same way. I want nothing more than to be with you for ever, to live with you and love you from now until the day we both die. But it's too soon for this!" she exclaimed. "I don't want to just jump into this. I mean, I'm only 17! Plus I have my duty to the Princess, as you have your's to the Prince. Neither one of us can exactly leave them and move to a different planet!"  
  
"So is your answer no?" He asked, disapointedly.  
  
"My answer is..." Makoto paused for a minute, unsure of how to answer. A beeping noise caught her attention and brought it away from the question for a moment. She whipped out her communicator and turned it on. "Jupiter here."  
  
A picture of Sailor Mercury's face appeared on screen. "Juypiter hurry down to the lake, their's a large group of youma attacking and we need all the help we can get."  
  
She nodded. "On my way." After closing down the screen she lifted her wand in the air and shouted, "JUPITER POWER!" Within moments she was Sailor Jupiter. "Let's goi." she said to Nephlite as the two ran off towards the lake.  
  
*************************  
  
"Hey Jupiter,glad you could make it." Mars called out as she blasted another youma with her Fire Soul.  
  
"Sorry it took me so long." She said as she looked around the battlefield. "Where the hell are all these youma coming from?" She questioned.  
  
"I don't know, but they are starting to get annoying." Venus commented.  
  
"Where's the Prince?" Nephlite asked as he hit a youma with his attack. "Him and the Princess are safe somewhere inside right?"  
  
"Actually, we're both right here." Endymion said.  
  
"You know you shouldn't be out here." Zoisite called as he launched his attack.  
  
"Yeah we don't need you two getting injured." Mars commented.  
  
"Mars, you know perfectly well that I can take care of myself. And we can help you know." Moon said, as she polished off a youma using her tiara, as if to prove her point.  
  
"Fine, but when you get injured, I'm not explaiing it to your mom." Mars said as she continued to fight.  
  
Thr group finally fought off the youma, only to reveal a huge monster behind them. They attacked but to no avail.  
  
"I got it!" Mercury called finally, looking up from her mini computer, her visor still on.  
  
"It's weakness is fire, so Mars and Jade..."  
  
"No problem." Jade said. "Phoenix...Flames...ENGULF!"  
  
"Mars...Celestial...Fire...SURROUND!"  
  
"OK everyone, hit them now!" Mercury yelled.  
  
"Jupiter...Thunderlap...ZAP!"  
  
"Ocean...Winds...ENCASE!"  
  
"Mars...Fire...IGNITE!"  
  
"Phoenix...Flames...ENGULF!"  
  
"Polar...Ice...FREEZE!"(See Author's Note #1 at end of chapter)  
  
"Shine...Aqua...ILLUSIONS!"  
  
"Venus...Love and Beauty...SHOCK!"  
  
"Cosmic...Energy...BLAST!" (See Author's Note #2 at end of chapter)  
  
"Moon...Tiara...MAGIC!"  
  
The monster howled in pain for a few moments before disintegrating before them.  
  
"Thank God that thing is gone." Zoisite said.  
  
"I wonder why we keep getting so many attacks lately. We never had this many before." Minako commented.  
  
"Let's just hope that they stop." Kunzite spoke up.  
  
The other's all nodded in agreement and turned back, ready to go inside, when a voice answered their question.  
  
"I can tell you why there have been so many youma attacks."  
  
The scouts and Genreals all turned around to ses a tall woman with bright red flowing hair.  
  
"Who are you?" Mercury asked cautiously.  
  
"Queen Beryl."  
  
"And how is it that you can tell us why there are so many attacks?" Jade asked.  
  
"Because, I'm the one sending them" She said grinning. "And don't bother attacking me, it won't do any good." She added as she noticed them readying their attacks. "I'm just here to warn you that the time has come...and the Darkness is almost here." With that said, she was gone.  
  
"Anyone have any idea who the hell that was?" Nephlite asked after a moment.  
  
"No idea, but I'm gonna go talk to my mom and Luna about this. We'll have to hve some sort of meeting later to figure out what is going on." Serin said. "For now, why don't we all go back inside and get some rest. I think it's going to be a long few days."  
  
Everyone nodded and headed inside. Jade noticed Rei and caught uop to her, putting his hand on her arm to stop her. "Hey Rei, what was it you wanted to talk to me about before?" He asked.  
  
She glared at him, shrugging his hand away and continued walking.  
  
Jade stood there, stupefied for a moment, when Serin came up to him. "Hey Jade, something wrong?" She aske.d  
  
He turned to her. "Did Rei say anything bout being mad at me?" He asked.  
  
Serin frowned. "Not that I know of. But I'll ask her later if you want me too.'  
  
He nodded. "Thnks. It's just not like her to ignore me." He was about to continue when he saw Endy walking up behind Serin. "I gotta go, thanks again though." He said hurrying off.  
  
"Hey Sweetie." Serin said as Endy kissed her on the cheek. "Why did Jade not stay when you came? Are you two not talking?" She asked.  
  
He shook his head. "He's not talking to me." He protested. "I think it's this whole thing with Rei, it's really getting to him."  
  
"I feel so bad for him! It must be terrible to love some one and not know how they feel about you." she said symphathetically.  
  
"Yes, but we don't have to worry about that, because I love you." He said smiling down at her.  
  
"And I love you just as much."  
  
************************  
  
Jade noticed Rei waiting outside his door as he neared it, and his heart soared at the though of talking to her. Until he saw the look on her face. "Rei, are you ok? You--"  
  
"How could you?" She demanded interrupting him.  
  
"How could I what?" He asked in confusion.  
  
"You brought my mom here!" She hissed.  
  
"Um Rei, maybe we should continue this conversation in my room." Jade suggested nervously as he looked around and noticed passing people staring at the two.  
  
"Fine, but I'm not giving up on this." She said.  
  
He opened the door and the two walked inside where Rei exploded at him.  
  
"I can't believe you did that!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Would you just let me explain?" He pleaded.  
  
"What is there to explain? You knew how angry I was at my mom, you knew that I didn't want to talk to her, and yet you went behind my back and invited her here with out even asking me first!"  
  
"You aren't the only one related to her." He said quietly.  
  
"What are you talking about?" She asked.  
  
"You told me yourself, Serin and you are cousins, making your moms sisters. Don't you think that they were happy to see each other again? Don't you think that Serin might want to meet her aunt?" He questioned.  
  
"That's not the point!" She shouted angry once again. "That's my business and there's. It didn't concern you."  
  
"Look Rei, I was just trying to help. It's not that easy going through life without your parents, and I knew you would never talk to her yourself." Jade explained.  
  
"Well what about your parents? You haven't said anything about your mom since I last saw you, and not once in all the years that I've known you have you said anything about your father. How do I know that you haven't talked to them in five years?" She asked.  
  
"I never knew my dad, he left before I was born. And my mom died three years ago because of cancer." He said softly. "There, are you happy?"  
  
Her face softened, "I'm so sorry Jed, I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me when your mom died?"  
  
"I sent a letter to your mother first. My mom came to visit me, on Earth, when she died. I wasn't ready to talk about it, so I asked your mom to write a letter to you, explaining my mother's death. Didn't she send you a letter?"  
  
"Actually she did, but I during the years I've been here, every time she sent me a letter I sent it back before reading it." Rei said slowly.  
  
He sighed. "See there you go again with that damn stubbornness of yours. If you had read one of the letters maybe you could have made up with your mom sooner."  
  
"Maybe I wasn't ready to then, and maybe I wasn't ready to now. But that didn't matter to you did it?" She asked in anger again.  
  
"Come on, you aren't mad at me are you? You know I didn't do it to hurt you or upset you." He said.  
  
"You know, through the twelve years that I have known you, I have never ever been able to get mad at you," She started.  
  
His face brightened in hopes of her forgiveness.  
  
"Until now." She continued.  
  
His face fell and his heart broke a thousand times over.  
  
"I have never been so mad at you in my entire life. And right now, I don't want to talk to you, so please, for now, just stay away from." She fled the room before he could see the pain in her eyes.  
  
And before she could see the despair in his.  
  
*************************  
  
Makoto wandered into Serin's room, in a daze, humming happily.  
  
Minako and Serin looked at her curiously. "What are you so happy about?" Serin asked.  
  
"I'll tell you once everyone gets here. They're all coming right?"  
  
"Yeah, we're just waiting for Ami and Rei to show up." Minako replied.  
  
The two came through the door at that moment. "Hey everyone, we're here." Ami said.  
  
"Hey what's up with Makoto? Why is she so dazed?" Rei asked.  
  
"She has some big thing to tell us, but she wouldn't tell us till everyone got here, so sit down she can tell us." Serin commanded.  
  
"Ok." Makoto said. "I guess you all want to know what I am so excited right?" The others nodded. "Well, I just came from talking to Nephlite and he told me he loves me, AND" She added before the others started screaming. "He asked me to marry him."  
  
There was complete silence in the room.  
  
"What happened to all the screaming?" Makoto asked.  
  
"He really proposed to you?" Rei asked.  
  
"No joke?" Minako asked.  
  
"Really and truly proposed to me." She answered.  
  
They all screamed in unison.  
  
"Makoto that's so wonderful!" Serin exclaimed hugging her.  
  
"Congratulations, we're so happy for you!" Minako added.  
  
"I don't mean to be a downer on this whole thing, but aren't you somewhat young to get married?" Ami asked.  
  
"Well, that's the thing. When he asked I did say that while I love him, I am too young to get married." Makoto explained.  
  
"Wait, what was your answer?" Rei asked.  
  
"Well I told him that I do love him, and I do want to spend the rest of our lives together, I'm not ready to get married yet. And that my first duty lies to the princess, and I can't just abandon her." She explained.  
  
"Ohhh Makoto! Now you're making me feel guilty!" Serin cried.  
  
"Oh Serin! Don't feel bad, I didn't mean it like that." Makoto said gently.  
  
"Have I ruined all of your lives?" She asked. "I know I ruined Rei's."  
  
"Oh come on Serin, you *know* that that is not true in anyway." Rei said hugging her tightly. "You are my best friend and I don't know what I would do with out you. You know that." 'And it wasn't your fault that my mom never told me, and it wasn't your fault that I was born a chosen one. Don't blame yourself." She mind sent.  
  
"And Serin, you didn't 'ruin' and of our lives. We love you to death and we wouldn't change this for anything." Minako said.  
  
"We love things the way they are." Ami added.  
  
"Thanks guys." Serin said smiling. "And sorry Makoto, for interrupting you, so what happened then?"  
  
"No problem. so anyway, I told Nephlite that I wasn't ready to get married yet, so he said he totally understood, and we aren't going to get married yet, we are going to wait for the Prince and the Princess, but, we are engaged!" she exclaimed holding out a necklace with the ring on it  
  
"Oh my God! It's gorgeous!" Minako exclaimed as the others agreed.  
  
"It really is beautiful, but Makoto, what did you say about the Prince and me?" Serin asked curiously.  
  
She blushed. "Oh well we figured that if we waited for the two of you to get married then it would be easier for us to get married, because we would already be living on the same planet, whether it be the Moon or Earth." She explained.  
  
Rei hit Serin softly on the arm. "You're engaged? How come you didn't tell me that?" She asked.  
  
"Maybe cause I'm not!" Serin exclaimed. "Makoto, where did you get the idea that I was engaged to the prince?"  
  
"Well I know you aren't yet, but according to Nephlite, the two of you will get married. He's seen it in the stars."  
  
The others all laughed in relief. "Oh ok cause I was getting worried for a moment, I mean Endymion and I are in love, but I didn't think he had proposed to me." Serin said relieved.  
  
"Hey Rei, when you talked to Jade earlier, did he say anything about me?" Minako asked suddenly.  
  
"No, not that I remember. Sorry." Rei said her features changing from excited to angry.  
  
"OK spill, what's wrong?" Serin asked. "You aren't talking to Jade, are you?"  
  
"Not really no."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I'm sure your mom told you that my 'visitor' this morning was my mom right?" Rei asked as Serin nodded. "Well I talked to her, and I turns out that the reason she came, is because Jed asked your mom to invite her!"  
  
Serin groaned inwardly. 'So that's what his 'idea' was!' She thought. "And you confronted him about it and got all pissed off?" She asked.  
  
Rei nodded. "And now we are not exactly talking."  
  
'Did you forgive your mom at least?' Serin asked Rei though her mind.  
  
She nodded. 'But I can't believe Jed would do that without telling me!' She sent.  
  
"Oh man, are you two doing this thing again?" Minako groaned.  
  
The two stopped and looked at the others. "Sorry." Rei said softly.  
  
"Would you two mind explaining why you can do that? I mean we have put up with it for the past five years, never questioning it, and I think we deserve to know." Makoto said.  
  
The two looked at each other before speaking. "This is going to come as somewhat of a shock, but the reason that the two of us can do this, is because we are so close, and the reason for that is..." Serin paused for a moment.  
  
"My mom is her mom's baby sister. We're cousins." Rei finished.  
  
Their was complete silence in the room.  
  
"You two...are cousins?" Ami asked finally.  
  
They nodded.  
  
"How long have you known?" Minako questioned.  
  
"Without telling the rest of us?" Makoto added angrily.  
  
"For the past five years. You guys aren't mad at us are you? Please don't be mad at us." Serin pleaded.  
  
"It's not that we're mad, so much as surprised." Ami said quickly, before Makoto could comment.  
  
"How come you never told us?" Minako asked.  
  
"It's not that we wanted to keep it a secret from you guys, but we weren't sure if anyone was supposed to know." Rei explained. "There are only a few people that know."  
  
"I just wish you hadn't waited this long to tell us." Makoto commented.  
  
'We are sorry. But we didn't even know about it until Rei came to the moon. Neither of us were ever told anything about it." Serin explained.  
  
"Yeah thanks to my mom." Rei said bitterly.  
  
"Let's not go there again Rei please?" Serin asked. "I know how much it hurt you, but you forgave her, just think about that ok?"  
  
"Yeah sorry." She said.  
  
"So, this isn't going to make everything weird between us is it?" Serin asked uneasily.  
  
"Doesn't bother me." Minako said cheerfully.  
  
"Me either." Ami added.  
  
Rei and Serin looked towards Makoto who was silent for a moment.  
  
"So, what's up with everyone else?" She asked after a moment, and smiled at Rei and Serin who smiled back happily.  
  
*************************  
  
"Ami?" He asked smiling. "Where are you?" Zositeie ventured further into the forest looking for Ami. "You know, I was kinda surprised when you asked me to meet you here."  
  
"You fool."  
  
Zoi whirled around to see who had spoken. "Beryl! What are you doing here?"  
  
"Why meeting you of course." She said smiling evilly at him. At the look of confusion on his face she contiued. "Ami didn't send you that note, I did."  
  
"So now what? Why did you single me out?"  
  
"It's quite simple actually, I want you to fight in my army. I decided that maybe we could do this the easy way, I give you the choice, then you come with me."  
  
"I will never join you." He growled moving into attack position.  
  
"And why not?" She asked.  
  
"I'm not a traitor. My friends need me, Ami needs me." He said defiantly.  
  
"Oh really? They show their 'need' in strange ways." Beryl said.  
  
He dropped his attack pose. "What are you talking about?"  
  
She waved her hand, an image appearing. "This is what is going on at the palace as we speak." She said.  
  
The image showed all of the scouts and generals in the sitting room, talking about something. As Zoiste listened, he was able to hear bits and peices of the conversation. Each person spoke, expressing their complete dislike for him. Until they came to Ami. "No please, not Ami." He whispered  
  
She smiled as she watched, he was falling into her trap perfectly.  
  
He watched in horror as Ami admitted that she had never really love him, she only said it out of pity for him. Zoisite felt like his entire world was falling apart. He dropped to his knees as he screamed. "NO! It's not true!"  
  
Beryl knelt beside him and put on hand on his shoulder. "I'm afraid it is. But things don't have to stay like this."  
  
He looked up at her hopefully. "They don't?" He asked.  
  
"No." She said soothingly. "In the Dark Kingdom, no one hates each other. And you will hve everything you could ever want, a family, shelter, food, women, clothing, power, everything. Just think about it."  
  
After a moment he nodded. "If they don't need me, then I sure as hell don't need them." He said standing up.  
  
*************************  
  
The scouts and generals were indeed gathered in one of the sitting rooms of the palace, but they were not talking about Zoi, other than wondering where he was.  
  
"Hey Ami, have you see Zoi at all today?" Kunzite asked her.  
  
She shook her head and was about to answer when a gripping pain ripped through her. She fell to the ground in complete pain. The othes ran over to her.  
  
"Ami, are you ok?" Serin asked.  
  
"ZOISITE!" She screamed in anguish.  
  
*************************  
  
A loud booming laugh echoed through the Negaverse as the brainwashing was complete. Beryl smiled at her new recruit. What is your first mission?" She asked, testing him.  
  
He smiled back with an evil smile of his own. "To kill the scouts and capture the other generals."  
  
She laughed again. This was going to be fun.  
  
*************Next Day*************  
  
"As soon as everyone gets here, we'll start. So sit back and relax, or at least try to, considering the situation." Queen Serenity said.  
  
The scouts and generals, minus Zoisite were gathered in the meeting room of the palace to discuss what had happened with Zoisite.  
  
Jade took the seat next to Rei. She sighed when she realized who had sat down next to her. "Look Jed, I really don't want to talk to you right now." She said as she stood up and went over to comfort Ami, who was still distraught over the lost of Zoisite.  
  
"She still not talking to you huh?"  
  
Jade looked up expecting to see Serin, but was surprised as Endymion took the seat next to him that Rei had occupied only moments before. "Um yeah, she's still pretty mad at me. I wanted to tell you, that I'm sorry for the things I said to you."  
  
He shrugged. "No big deal, I understand. You're forgiven."  
  
Jade sighed in relief. "Well that's one less person I have to worry about being mad at me."  
  
"What did you do anyway that got her so mad? I mean all Serin told me was that you did something, and it really upset her, which is why she isn't talking to you."  
  
"I'm sure Serin told you a little bit about how Rei hasn't talked to her mom in over five years right?" He waited for a nod before continuing, "Well, with the Queen's permission, I kinda invited her mom to the moon." He explained  
  
"Well I'm sure in the end she'll realize why you did it. She can't stay mad forever." Endy said.  
  
"Yeah but she can hold a grudge for a pretty long time. But anyway, how are you holding up with this whole thing?" Jade questioned.  
  
"You mean with Zoi gone? I don't know. I mean, it's tough, but Serin's there to comfort me which helps a lot." He paused for a moment, and then realized what he had just said, "I'm sorry. That was stupid of me to say."  
  
He smiled. "It's ok. Besides, if you think about it, technically I have Minako comforting me." He rolled his eyes.  
  
Endy laughed. "Yeah we all know how much you love her."  
  
Serin, who had been talking to Makoto, looked over to Endy and Jade. "So are you two talking again?" She asked.  
  
"Yes we are." Endy said putting his arm around her.  
  
"Good." she said leaning against him.  
  
Jade looked away in slight jealousy, trying to keep his gaze away from Rei, who sat in front of him. The Queen, thankfully, chose that moment to start the meeting.  
  
"As you all know, Zoisite was taken by Queen Beryl."  
  
Ami felt her eyes fill with tears once again at the mention of her love.  
  
"What you don't know, is that Queen Beryl is the leader of an evil dimension, known as the Negaverse. She has no good left in her, and she cares only about power. Her main goal is to take over Earth, and then the Moon. Apparently, to carry out her plan she needed more warriors. Which is why she took Zoisite."  
  
"That isn't the whole story, is it?" Rei asked.  
  
Serenity shook her head. "It dates back to the time when I first got married. It was then told that I would have a daughter," She paused for a moment to smile at Serin. "It was also told that during her teenage years, when she was close to being an adult, and evil force would attack. One so great that the only ones who would ever have a chance to defeat it, would be Serenity, Endymion, and their guardians..."  
  
As the Queen continued talking Jade's mind drifted away. He knew he should be paying attention, but figured that he could get Endy to tell him if the Queen said anything majorly important. So, instead of paying attention, he let his mind and eyes drift towards Rei. He loved everything about her, she was everything that he could ever want in someone. Except for the fact that, she didn't love him back. He thought back to what Dave had told him,  
  
"...You aren't the one she runs to to kiss hello, or smiles at lovingly. You're her best friend, and nothing more. And that is the way it always has been, and always will be..." He was right. Jade would always just be 'Jed' to Rei, her best friend, the one who was always there for her, the one that she loved to death, but not in that way. Finally tearing his eyes away from her, he made the hardest decision he had ever had to make.  
  
"Hey Jade," Endy said tapping him on the shoulder, "Meeting's over, we're all going out to the training grounds, you coming?"  
  
Jade looked up and realized everyone was already on their way. "Uh yeah I'll be right there."  
  
Endy and Serin exchanged worried glances before looking back at Jade. "Jade, is something wrong?" Serin asked.  
  
He looked at Rei once more and smiled sadly. "No, I'm fine. You two go ahead I'll meet you there in a minute."  
  
The two nodded and took off for the training grounds. Jade stood and sighed to himself. "I hereby resolve that I will no longer love Princess Rei of Mars. It hurts to much to try, when nothing is ever going to come from it." He said quietly to himself, then left the room.  
  
Minako walked out of the shadows in complete shock. "Jade loves Rei?"  
  
******************************  
  
Ne: Right. (ex. The party starts at 4 ne? the party starts and 4 right?) Arigato: Thank You. Author's Note #1: As you may have noticed, in a previous chapter(either 6 or 7) Zoisite's atatck was different. I changed it because the first one kinda sucked. And I realize that this was not much better, so it may change from time to time, especially because he is evil now. Author's Note #2: In the same chapter mentioned above, it is said the Kunzite does not have to say anything to trigger his attack, but again I thought that sounded bad as well, so this is his new attack. Eventually I will fix it so both chapters say the right thing, but for now, just bare with me. Okay first of all, I suck at battle scenes, like im absolutely and completely terrible, so im sorry about that. I also am not the greatest at writing things between the other scouts, especially Makoto and Neph for whatever reason. I know that I somewhat rushed into them getting engaged, but I see the Silver Millenium as the old days and it was more normal for people to get married so young. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, only a few more left, please please please continue to review! Thank you always for reading! 


	11. Chapter 10

This chapter was done and posted a few days ago, but I just discovered that for some reason it was reposted over the read me? So yeah, sorry about that, things should now be in their right place. This chapter is where things really pick up and rightly so before there is only three more chapters to go after this one. Oh and for anyone who already hates Dave, well he just keeps getting worse and worse. ( Enjoy and review please!  
  
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â ***************************  
  
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â As the Tears Fell~Chapter Ten  
  
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â By MCRK  
  
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â *************************** Jade stood and sighed to himself. "I hereby resolve that I will no longer love Princess Rei of Mars. It hurts too much to try, when nothing is ever going to come from it." He said quietly to himself, then left the room.  
  
Minako walked out of the shadows in complete shock. "Jade loves Rei?" She asked herself softly. "Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! What am I gonna do?" She asked frantically. As an afterthought, she remembered that everyone was meeting at the training grounds, so her first move would be to head to practice. 'I can't believe he loves her!' she thought. 'Well used to love her.' She corrected herself. According to what Jade has said, he was over her, but if she knew anything about love, (And considering she was the scout of it, she did know quite a lot) he was far from over her. After practice she was gonna have to try to talk to Makoto or someone, without telling her the whole story. "Man this is gonna put complications in our relationship." She muttered.  
  
******************  
  
Rei could feel Jade's eyes on her but she refused to acknowledge his presence. When it had come time for partner sparring, she convinced Luna to temporarily switch her partner so she wouldn't have to work with him. "Please Luna? I really can't face him right now." She had pleaded.  
  
Luna had, of course, protested, "Do you really think it's fair to put the second ranked against the first ranked?" She asked, when Rei had suggested she go against Kunzite, and Minako could go against Jade.  
  
"Well it would make us stronger. I mean think about it, the next time Beryl attacks do you really think that she is going to care if she gives us a warrior more skilled then us? We should be more prepared then to just fight those of our rank." She reasoned.  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Please Luna?" Rei begged.  
  
After a few moments of pleading, the small cat agreed. "Everyone, gather round." She called as the others stopped fighting. "We will have the usual partner sparring, but the pairs will be slightly different then usual." She sent a subtle glare at Rei when she said this, but continued. "Serin and Endymion will be paired, Makoto and Nephlite will be paired, Ami," She paused for a moment again, "Ami is excused from training right now due to the circumstances. As for--"  
  
"Is that really wise Luna?" Serin interrupted. "I mean, now we know who and what Beryl is after, don't you think we should all be ready in top form?"  
  
"Yes I agree but if you look at the situation, there is no one for Ami to spar with right now, besides the fact that she is currently distraught and heartbroken. She is in no state to fight."  
  
"I know but what if--"  
  
"Do not question my authority Princess Serenity." Luna yelled interrupting her, and scaring everyone else. Serin's mouth dropped open, no one every called her Princess Serenity, hell, no one ever even called her Serenity! No one had seen Luna so upset either. Even Artemis was shocked. He quietly padded over to her and whispered something softly to her that seemed to calm her down.  
  
"I'm sorry." She apologized sighing. "It's just that we just lost a member of our team to the enemy side, and now Mercury is unfit to fight, plus we know who Beryl is after...Anyway," She said regaining her composure. "As for the last two pairs, Rei will be working with Kunzite, and Jade will be working with Minako. Remember, no powers, first to fall loses, go ahead."  
  
Jade shot a hurt look at Rei, who still wouldn't even look at him. 'I can't believe she is doing this!' He thought as he ran over to talk to her.  
  
She whirled around knowing who it was that tapped her. "What Jade? If you don't mind I am trying to practice." she snapped.  
  
He stepped back, pain clearly showing in his eyes. "Jade?" He whispered. "You have always been the one person who doesn't call me Jade. Why the sudden change?"  
  
She sighed. "Look I don't have time for this. What did you want to ask me?" She questioned.  
  
"Why do you have to keep up this whole fight thing? At least let us continue to spar. It affects everyone if you do this Rei." He said quietly.  
  
"Why?" She asked. "Why? Because you broke my trust!" She exclaimed. "And this does not affect everyone. Switching the partners between the four of us only makes us stronger and better."  
  
"No it doesn't, and you know it. Kunzite can defeat you too easily, just as Minako can defeat me too easily. We aren't matched." Jade explained.  
  
"Maybe so but right now, if I was to spar with you, I either wouldn't be able to concentrate, or I would let my emotions overcome me and would end up hurting you. And as mad as I am right now, you are still my best friend and I still love you to death, but I'm not ready to forgive you at the moment." Rei explained. "Look this isn't the time or the place to be talking about this. Just know that when I am ready to forgive you, you'll know." She left him with that thought as she headed over to Kunzite to begin their spar.  
  
Minako quietly walked up to Jade. "Hey, so I take it we are sparring?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah." He replied. Jade glanced over at Rei and forced himself to remember that he was over her. 'Well let's really move on then.' He thought. He turned back to Minako. "I was wondering, would you want to go with me to the ball at the end of the week, to celebrate the princessÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s birthday?" He asked  
  
Minako swallowed hard, "Um sure, I'd love to." She forced out.  
  
He gave her the best fake smile he could mange. "Great."  
  
******************  
  
"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Makoto asked as her and Minako walked outside.  
  
"It's such a pretty day outside." Minako commented, changing the subject.  
  
"Okay, now I definitely know something's wrong. What's up?" Makoto questioned.  
  
Minako was hesitant to respond. 'I have to figure out some way to explain this, without telling her that Jade loves Rei.' She thought.  
  
"Minako?" She prodded.  
  
"Well, it's...ok this is kind of hard to explain...uh..." She faltered, trying to find the right words.  
  
"Anytime now, Minako." Makoto said smiling.  
  
"Something happened and now I know something that I wasn't supposed to know." She blurted out.  
  
"Well that's kind of broad. It would help if I knew a little bit more information." Makoto pointed out.  
  
Minako sighed. "See, that's the thing. I really can't tell you who said it, or exactly what it was they said."  
  
"Well, can you give you any other information at all? It's kind of hard for me to help otherwise." She commented.  
  
"What happened was someone said something, and they didn't notice I was there, and I really don't think I was supposed to hear. And, they were talking about how they...like someone." Minako tried to explain.  
  
"Let me guess, this happened in the meeting room, after everyone else had already left to go the training grounds. And Jade was there, and you overheard him say something about how he was in love with someone else." Makoto said.  
  
Minako stared at her in disbelief. "How, how did you do that?" She asked.  
  
Makoto grinned. "You mean I was right? Cool."  
  
"Not exactly right. The thing I kinda forgot to mention was that he didn't really say that he loved someone else, he said that he no longer loved that person because it hurts too much."  
  
"I guess you wouldn't be able to tell me the person is would you?" She asked.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Damn." She said smiling.  
  
"So what should I do?" Minako pressed.  
  
"What do you mean, what should you do? You're going out with him, aren't you?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah, but I don't know now if he really likes me."  
  
"That's true." Makoto said. "You said you weren't supposed to know about this right?"  
  
Minako nodded.  
  
"Well then there really isn't anything you can do." She said gently. "Other than breaking up with him, but I advise that you wait a while and see. Maybe he really is over this mysterious person, and maybe he really is starting to fall for you."  
  
Minako nodded her head in agreement. "Thanks, Makoto." She said.  
  
She was about to answer when their communicators started beeping. "Great, another attack" Makoto sighed as she turned it on. "Makoto and Minako here."  
  
MarsÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s face appeared on the small screen before them. "Hey guys, get down to the lake as quickly as possible. We've got another monster attack, and we aren't doing to well."  
  
"We're on our way." Minako said as Mars signed off. "Well, let's go." She said as they ran down towards the lake.  
  
*******************  
  
"Shit." Sailor Moon swore as she dodged another blast.  
  
"You may as well give up now; you're never going to beat me." Zoisite laughed evilly.  
  
"Sorry it took us so long, we got here as fast as...we...could..." Jupiter's voice trailed off as she noticed Zoisite.  
  
"Zoisite." Venus breathed.  
  
"Would you two stop gawking and starting fighting!" Nephlite yelled.  
  
"Right, sorry." Jupiter said jumping into action. "What's up with Ami?" She asked Mars softly.  
  
Mars glanced over to where Ami had been silently standing for the past ten minutes...ever since Zoisite has started to attack. "I think she's still in shock over the whole thing. She really loves him." She commented.  
  
"Zoi, come on snap out of this. I know this isn't you. Just come back to our side. Please." Endymion pleaded.  
  
"Hmmm...let me think about it, no." Zoisite said as he sent another youma.  
  
"Damn it we can't handle all these youma!" Venus growled.  
  
Sailor Moon went over to Ami and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Mercury, please. We need you help to find out the weakness."  
  
She nodded and started typing on her mini computer. "It's fire." She said softly after a few minutes.  
  
"Thanks Ames." She said smiling gratefully at here.  
  
"Mars...Celestial...Fire...SURROUND!" Mars shot off her attack, which had no affect on the youma.  
  
"Why the hell isn't it working?" Kunzite yelled.  
  
"Our attacks by themselves aren't strong enough. We're going to have to double team it." Jade shouted over to Mars.  
  
Mars, however, ignored him and continued to shoot attacks that had no affect, other then wasting her energy.  
  
"Mars, it won't work." Venus told her softly.  
  
She ignored her and kept attacking.  
  
"Rei," Nephlite started gently. "You can't beat it alone."  
  
She was about to respond when Zoisite ordered the youma to attack. The scouts watched helplessly, unable to react in time, as the youma shot forward a blast that knocked into Nephlite, sending him back a good ten feet and slamming him into a tree, knocking him unconscious.  
  
"NEPHLITE!" Jupiter screamed rushing over to his aide.  
  
Mercury quickly snapped out of the spell she had been in and took over. Glancing over at Mars, she could tell she wouldn't be much help in the rest of the fight. "Mercury...Bubbles...FREEZE!" She yelled, encasing the youma in ice. "Now Jade!" She shouted.  
  
Jade nodded. "Phoenix...Flames...ENGULF!" He yelled, holding the fire for an extra few seconds to make sure the youma was harmed enough.  
  
"I'll be back, and next time...you won't be so lucky." Zoisite said before disappearing in a swirl of petals.  
  
The others all powered down. "Zoisite..." Ami whispered softly as she reached a hand out to the place he had been standing only moments before.  
  
Rei stood in shock at what had just happened. 'Because of your stubbornness, a friend and fellow warrior of yours is hurt.' She scolded herself. She walked over to where Nephlite was lying, being comforted by Jupiter, and where the others were standing.  
  
"How, how is it?" she asked cautiously.  
  
"His arm may be broken and he's still unconscious." Makoto said coldly, glaring at her.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." She faltered.  
  
"Rei, you know that the first rule of any warrior is that they can't let their emotions overcome them, especially not when in a serious fight." Minako said quietly.  
  
"She's right. Someone could have been killed." Endymion said.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Rei said softly.  
  
"That's the thing Rei. It doesn't matter if you meant for it to happen or not, it did." Kunzite said sharply. Rei looked around the circle of her friends, all of who were either glaring at her, or unable to look at her. "Gomen." She whispered. She looked down at Nephlite. "Please, tell him. I'm so sorry." She turned and fled from the group.  
  
Serin glared at the group. "Well that was really nicely handled thanks guys." She said sarcastically.  
  
"Serin, she needed to hear that and you know it." Jade spoke up. "Just because she's your cousin and your best friend..."  
  
Serin glared at him. "This has nothing to do with the fact that she is my cousin, or the fact that she is my best friend. This has to do with the fact that she was upset and made a mistake. And yes she did need to hear that, but not to that extent. That was going to extremes."  
  
"Serin, Nephlite was hurt because she was too stubborn to--" Makoto started.  
  
"Yeah I realize Nephlite was hurt. And I know that it easily could have been any of us. But you know Rei. And you know that she is going to put enough blame on herself for this entire thing without all of you adding to it. Besides the fact that I happen to be the Princess, meaning that I am the leader of her. It was my job to say anything to her." Serin interrupted. She glared at them one last time before running off after Rei.  
  
*******************  
  
Rei looked up from the stone wall she was leaning against as she head footsteps approaching. Serin appeared in front of her a moment later and sat down silently next to her.  
  
Rei groaned as she drew her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. "Oh God, please just go away Serin. I don't want to talk to anyone right now." She mumbled.  
  
"Too bad." Serin snapped. "You're talking whether you want to or not. You can't walk away from what just happened."  
  
She raised her head slightly. "Does everyone hate me?" She asked quietly.  
  
Serin felt all the anger she had just had quickly melt away as sorrow for her best friend replaced it.  
  
"I know now that you do, and I'm sure Nephlite despises me, not to mention Makoto. I'm sure Ami is pretty pissed at me, and Oh God, I don't even want to know what Jed thinks of me right now." She said softly.  
  
"Oh Sweetie, I don't hate you." Serin said hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry I sounded so angry. You mean the world to me, and I could never hate you. Just as the others don't hate you, especially not Jade." She consoled.  
  
Rei turned away. "Oh come on Serin, you saw what happened!" She exclaimed. "We could have defeated that youma easily, and maybe even got Zoi back. But I had to be a stubborn idiot and because of me, Nephlite got seriously injured. I'd hate me too."  
  
"Rei," She started quietly. "Don't do this to yourself."  
  
Rei looked over quizzically.  
  
"You're blaming yourself, and it's gonna eat you away inside. You let your emotions overcome you and you were distracted for a moment. It happens to everyone some time." Serin said.  
  
"But it shouldn't happen to me!" She exclaimed. "I mean what if it was you that had been hurt? My job is a protector! A protector! And I can't even defeat a simple monster that had the weakness of my element with out getting some one hurt. And again, what if it was you that had gotten hurt? Then I would have failed in my duty of protecting the princess."  
  
"But I wasn't." Serin said firmly. "You can't dwell on what could have happened, you have to concentrate on what is."  
  
"Fine, then let's concentrate on what did happen. A monster and Zoi attacked. The weakness was fire, which both Jed and I control. Now, had we double-teamed, we easily could have killed it, and possibly gotten Zoi back. But I was too much of an idiot to team up with Jed, and because of me, Zoisite is still on the other side, and one of our warriors was hurt." She stated.  
  
Serin took a deep breath before answering. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you, everyone back there is somewhat angry at you, but they understand what happened! It's not completely your fault!"  
  
"But it is." Rei said quietly. "It's my fault that Nephlite got hurt, and it's my fault that we didn't get Zoisite back, and it's my fault t that my best friend now hates me."  
  
"That's what you're really upset about isn't it? This whole fight with Jade?" She asked.  
  
Rei nodded. "I feel like my stupidity has lost him forever."  
  
"Sweetie, you know that's not true. You know that Jade will always be there for you." Serin protested.  
  
"I'm not so sure this time." She said turning away.  
  
Serin moved to the other side of her so the two were once again facing. "Rei, what are you talking about? So you got into a fight, everyone does at some point in their friendship." She said gently. "I don't think that there is anything you could ever do that would make him never forgive you." She said. "But I think you already know that. I don't think that's what the real problem is." She said quietly.  
  
*******************  
  
Makoto gently stroked the side of Nephlite's face as he slowly opened his eyes. "Are you ok?" She asked softly.  
  
He rubbed a hand across his eyes as he groggily asked, "What happened?"  
  
"You got blasted by the youma. It threw you back a bit and slammed you into the tree." She explained bitterly.  
  
"All I remember is talking to Mars...and then...everything went black..."He said, noticing the look on his beloved's face when he mentioned Mars' name.Ã¢â‚¬?Makoto..." He started.  
  
"If it hadn't been for her being so stubborn this wouldn't have happened in the first place!" She argued.  
  
"Makoto, I don't want you to blame Rei. She made a mistake, it could have happened to anyone."  
  
"But it happened to her and you got hurt because of it."  
  
"Do you blame Zoisite at all?" He asked quietly.  
  
"What?" She asked, startled at his question. "Why would I blame Zoisite?"  
  
"He had just as much to do with this as Rei. If you want to get into the 'what ifs' then he would be blamed also." He explained.  
  
"That's completely different!" She argued. "Zoisite is not himself right now and--"  
  
"And neither is Rei." Nephlite quietly interrupted. "This whole fight thing is killing her and she wasn't herself today nor was she concentrating. So don't blame Rei. Onegai? Let's just be grateful that I'm ok ne?"  
  
Makoto's face softened. "Oh all right. And I am thankful that you're okay. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I love you so much and I don't know what I would do without you." She confessed.  
  
"Well, don't waste your time worrying about that, because I promise I will never leave you, or your love." He vowed as the two embraced in a kiss.  
  
Ami turned away from the happy couple, trying to hide her jealousy.  
  
"Sucks doesn't it?"  
  
She whirled around in surprise, to see Jade standing there with his hands in his pockets looking very depressed. "I beg your pardon?" She asked.  
  
He nodded his head towards the kissing couple. "You know, watching over people be happy while the person that you love isn't here."  
  
She laughed bitterly. "Look if you're trying to tell me that you know how I feel, it's not going to work. I mean, I know Zoi is one of your best friends and I'm sure that you miss him, but it's different when it's someone that you love. I mean, I can't even talk to him anymore, and now I have to fight him."  
  
"Yeah I guess you're right. I have no idea what it feels like. Mind if I talk to you about it anyway?" He asked,  
  
She shrugged and sighed. "Why not? Everyone else has." The two walked along for a minute until they came across an old swing where they sat down.  
  
Ami stared ahead, as she started talking. "How am I supposed to fight against him when I am to busy staring at the way the light shines in his eyes, or the way his forehead wrinkles when he laughs, or--"  
  
"The way that tease you incessantly over the smallest things, or the way that they look so adorable when they mess up at something. Or the way that they come running to you with all their problems." He interrupted her quietly. "Or the way that they are the best friend you could possibly have." Jade raised his eyes to meet hers and in looking into them she felt as if she was looking into his heart and knew in an instant the real truth. He did know what she was going through.  
  
"Oh God, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re in love with Rei, arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t you?" She asked softly.  
  
He gave her a small smile. "It's that obvious huh?"  
  
"Jade, I'm so sorry." She whispered. "You really do know what I'm going through, and if anything, you're going through it even worse then I am."  
  
"No I should be the one apologizing. I mean, I was trying to comfort you over Zoisite, and here I am telling you all about my stupid problems." He apologized.  
  
"No don't say that." Ami said shaking her head. "You deserve to have people listen to your problems as much as any one else does." She gasped suddenly. "That's why you invited her mom here isn't it?"  
  
"Well that among other reasons, but yeah. Did she tell you about that?" He asked  
  
She nodded. "She was kind of pissed at you about the whole thing."  
  
He sighed. "Yeah, she still is."  
  
"I take it that's why the whole thing at the fight before happened?" She asked.  
  
Jade nodded. "Yeah, she hasn't been talking to me, and well you know what Rei's like when she's mad at someone."  
  
The two were silent for a few minutes before Ami quietly started to laugh.  
  
"What's so funny?" He asked.  
  
"I'm sorry. But this is just so pathetic. The two of us sitting here, with nothing better to do then talk about how sad our love lives are." She explained, her laughter dying down.  
  
He smiled. "Yeah it is kinda pathetic isn't it?"  
  
"Hey, by the way, does Minako know that you're in love with Rei?" She asked suddenly.  
  
He shook his head. "I should probably tell her, but I still can't even bring myself to tell Rei."  
  
She nodded her head. "If it helps, I think that in the end, the two of you will end up being together."  
  
"Yeah I hope so." Jade looked down at his watch and noticed what time it was. "Oh Ames I'm sorry to leave you like this but I gotta go, I'm supposed to meet someone in about ten minutes." He apologized.  
  
She waved it off. "It's ok I was planning on going back to the castle in a few minutes anyway."  
  
He nodded. "Okay. I'll talk to you later." He turned away and started to walk back down the path, but paused for a moment and turned around. "Hey Ami," He called.  
  
She looked over at him. "Yes?"  
  
He smiled at her. "Don't worry; we'll get Zoisite back somehow. And just remember that deep down, he still does and always will love you." The smile vanished from his face. Ã¢â‚¬Å"At least you know that he returns your love." He said softly, and Ami could almost feel the pain he was feeling, before walking away.  
  
Ami gazed up at the sky that had started to darken, and stars had started to appear. One star that seemed to twinkle brighter then all the other's caught her eye. She sighed. 'I miss you so much Zoi. Please, come back to me.'  
  
*******************  
  
Rei turned away and was silent for a few minutes.  
  
"Rei," Serin said to her back, "Please talk to me. You're my best friend, and I want to help you. Please, tell me what is really wrong."  
  
She slowly turned back around, and Serin could see tears in her eyes, a sight that was rarely seen. "I know that he won't hold this against me, and if I talked to him, he would forgive me in a second. That's not the problem anymore."  
  
"Then what is?" She pressed.  
  
"Ren, ever since I was little, my entire life has been fucked up, along with everything and everyone in it. I have *always* felt like my entire world was falling apart and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it. Like, all along," Rei paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "Like all along, I was born to lose. And through it all, through my whole life, and all the shit with my mom, and everything else, through everything that ever happened, good and bad, everything, He's been there. He has been the one sole person who has always stood by me. Through thick and thin, through the good and the bad, the easy times and the hard times, he has always been there to support me, to lend me a shoulder to cry on. And I had to go repay him by screaming at him and ignoring him during the one fucking time in his life that he needed me to be there. The one time that he needed my support, my shoulder to cry on, I wasn't there. And I can't blame him if he hates me forever because of that." She paused for a moment as the realization came to her, "He's not the one that betrayed me, I'm the one that betrayed him." (See AN at end of chapter)  
  
Serin smiled lightly at her friend. "Sweetie, is that what's been bothering you?"  
  
She nodded. "I don't even deserve his forgiveness!"  
  
Serin hugged her tightly. "Rei don't ever say that!" She exclaimed.  
  
"But it's true. I was horrible to him, I wasn't there when one of his best friends was taken by Beryl, and I was the cause of the near death of his other best friend just now. How, why would he ever want to forgive me?" She asked as a small tear trickled down her cheek. "I've ruined everything."  
  
Serin reached over and gently wiped away the tear. "How could he not want to forgive you Rei? You know, for as long as I have known you, you have been your own worst critic."  
  
"It's cause I deserve it." She mumbled.  
  
"Listen to me. You are a wonderful person. You are smart, and funny, and beautiful, and compassionate, and loving, and honest, and a wonderful friend. And I bet you anything Jade is going insane right now because you won't talk to him. He's your best friend." Serin said.  
  
Rei smiled slightly. "I thought you were my best friend?"  
  
She smiled back. "Well he's your best guy friend how's that?"  
  
"That's because he is my only guy friend how I haven't dated yet." Rei continued, her eyes starting to regain their usual sparkle.  
  
"Now there's the Rei I know and love."  
  
The smile disappeared. "But Serin, I still don't know if I'm ready to talk to him. I don't think he's gonna want to forgive me."  
  
She was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "The only advice that I can give you is this. Before you talk to him, before you forgive him, or ask him to forgive you, you have to forgive yourself." Serin told her gently. "You have to realize that you aren't a horrible person, that everyone makes mistakes, and you need to forgive yourself for yours."  
  
"Thanks Serin." Rei said hugging her. "I gotta go meet Dave, but I promise I'll think about what you said ok?"  
  
Serin agreed. "I kind of blew up at everyone a few minutes ago, I should go apologize."  
  
"If Nephlite is awake, can you just tell him I'm sorry?" Rei asked as the two stood up.  
  
"Promise."  
  
*******************  
  
"Hey, sorry I'm late; I didn't realize what time it was." Dave said as he walked over to Rei.  
  
"It's ok." She said shrugging it off.  
  
He leaned over to kiss her but stopped when she turned her head away. "What's wrong?" He questioned. "You aren't mad at me because I was a few minutes late are you?"  
  
"No, no it's nothing like that. And I'm not mad at you, I'm just," She paused for a moment, "I'm in need of your advice." She finished.  
  
"Ok, let's sit down." He said leading her to the couch and sitting down next to her. "So what's wrong?" He asked stroking the side of her face softly with his finer. "I hate seeing you this sad."  
  
"I kind of got into this huge fight with a good friend of mine. Do you remember my friend Jade?" She asked  
  
Before he was able to answer, Mike and Jeff came over. "Dave you will never believe what I have to tell you!" Mike said excitedly, ignoring Rei.  
  
"Hey Rei." Jeff said. "It's not that incredible." He added rolling his eyes.  
  
"Yeah that's only because it has nothing to do with you." Mike retorted.  
  
"Anyway," Dave said meaningfully. "Can't you tell me later? I'm kind of busy right now." He said nodding towards Rei.  
  
"No way Davie! Trust me; you want to know this now." He said.  
  
"Mike, you are starting to--" Dave started.  
  
"They said yes!" He exclaimed interrupting him.  
  
His eyebrows shot up in obvious surprise. "They said yes?" He asked.  
  
Mike nodded as he smiled. "Totally agreed, to everything."  
  
"Do they know about..." He let his voice trail off.  
  
Mike nodded again. "I explained everything to them, and didn't bother them in the least. They're perfectly fine with the whole situation."  
  
Jeff shook his head slightly. "Don't do this to her man." He said softly so that Rei didn't hear him.  
  
They ignored him. Dave turned to Rei. "I really need to talk to Mike for a minute ok honey? But I promise it will only be a minute or two and then I help you with your problem." He promised as he and Mike walked a few feet away to talk.  
  
Jeff, who had pretty silent up until now, well at least as far as Rei knew, sat down on the couch next to her. "So what's wrong?" He asked,  
  
She looked over at him skeptically. "Like you really want to know."  
  
"No really I do. I know Dave, and I know what they are talking about, and they're gonna be talking for a while, so if you want some advice," He shrugged, "I'm here."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "The only reason you want to know is so that you can bug me about it for the rest of my life."  
  
"No really, I want to help. You know, I don't hate you." Jeff said quietly.  
  
Rei looked over at him in surprise. "Really?" She asked.  
  
"Well you know, I only bugged you because you did the same to me. Besides, you're my best friend's girlfriend; it was kinda instinctive to bug you. Mike and I do it to people all the time, don't take it too personally. But I didn't really mean anything, just like you didn't really mean it, right?" He asked hopefully.  
  
She smiled at him, "Yeah I guess I really didn't mean it."  
  
"Good, so what's the problem?"  
  
She took a deep breath, "It's kind of complicated, but you remember my friend Jade?" She asked.  
  
He nodded, waiting for her to continue.  
  
"Well we kind of got into this huge fight, ok well it's more like I got into a huge fight. He kind of did something that totally pissed me off and I haven't been talking to him for a while. But now, I'm starting to feel bad about the whole thing." She confessed.  
  
"If you don't mind my asking, what did he do?" Jeff questioned. "I'm only asking because he seemed to be the one person you could never get mad at."  
  
"He was." Rei admitted. "Until recently. What happened was this. For personal reasons, which I don't want to get into, until a few days ago, I hadn't talked to my mom in five years. And Jed knew that, and he knew the whole reason why. And yet, for some reason, he sent a letter to my mom, asking her to visit. Even though he knew that I never wanted to talk to her again, which is probably why he didn't even ask me before he talked to her."  
  
"So in other words, he broke the trust that you had in him?" He asked smiling lightly at her.  
  
She smiled back. "Yeah that probably would have been easier to say, but you know me. Gotta take the long way for everything."  
  
"So why aren't you talking to Serin about this?" He asked. "I mean, I would think you would talk to her before you talked to anyone else, even Dave, and especially before you talked to me."  
  
She blushed at his comment. "Well I kind of did already."  
  
He laughed. "Oh so my advice is just kind of like, 'Well let's see whose advice is better and then I'll figure out what to do.'"  
  
"No not at all!" She exclaimed. "It's just, I don't know, I thought it would help to get a guy's point of view on this whole thing, and I was planning on getting my boyfriend's, but since he is busy..." Her voice trailed off.  
  
"Oh ok I get it now. I'm just the fill-in guy cause you already asked your first best friend, you're mad at your second, and your boyfriend is busy, so you come to good 'old Jeff huh?"  
  
She smiled in spite of herself. "Well kinda yeah. But remember, you did offer to help." She pointed out.  
  
"That's true. I guess I brought it upon myself." He said.  
  
"That's not really the whole problem either. It's kinda deep, and hard to get into, but now I feel guilty because I kinda betrayed him in a way." Rei said.  
  
"Well I need a bit more information on this whole thing first, so I need to ask you, did you forgive your mom?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"So Jade was right all along huh?" Jeff asked grinning at her.  
  
She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah I guess."  
  
"Well, if you want my honest opinion," He started. "I think that you should forgive him. I understand that you're upset that he broke your trust, but I think that he knew that in the long run, it would be for the better. But before you can begin to do that, you have to forgive yourself. Things happen, people aren't always there for each other, and you can't blame yourself forever over that."  
  
She nodded, "That's what Serin said also. So I guess I should talk to him huh?"  
  
"I'm not saying that." He said.  
  
She looked at him in confusion. "But you just told me that you would forgive him."  
  
"Exactly." He responded. Noting the confusion on her face, he continued. "That is what I would do, if it was me in the situation. But it's not me, it's you. And I don't know what happened between you and your mom, and how much it affected you. I don't know how angry you were at her, and I don't know what you were feeling when you saw her again and when you found out Jade brought her here. And I don't know how you are feeling now about this whole situation. It's your decision, and you have to make it. You have to decide by yourself if and when you are ready to forgive him and yourself. It helps to get advice and point of views from others, but you are the one that has to make the actual decision, and it all depends on how you feel. All I'm saying is that you have to choose what you think is right." Jeff explained gently.  
  
Her eyes light up in understanding. "You know, you're the only person to tell me that, and I think that's what I really needed to hear. Thanks Jeff." She said standing up.  
  
"Wait, so are you gonna forgive him?" He asked.  
  
"I'm still really not sure, but I promise that once I figure it out, you'll be one of the first people to know ok?"  
  
He was about to respond when Dave and Mike walked back over. "Hey sweetie. Sorry it took so long. You still want to talk?" Dave asked  
  
Rei shook her head. "No actually that's ok. Jeff and I talked while you were talking to Mike, so everything is pretty ok now."  
  
"You sure?" He questioned.  
  
She nodded. "I gotta go, so I'll talk to you later ok? Love you, see you later." She said kissing him good-bye.  
  
"Ok talk to you later, love you too." He said as she left the room. He turned to Jeff and Mike breathing a sigh of relief. "Thanks Jeff, I owe you one man. I really didn't feel like listening to her complain about some stupid problem."  
  
Jeff shook his head. "It wasn't some stupid problem, it was important to her, you're her boyfriend, you should have been the one talking to her, not me." He accused.  
  
"Calm down, I thanked you ok? Like I said, I owe you one." Dave said carelessly.  
  
"Fine. You wanna pay me back? Tell her the truth." Jeff said.  
  
"What? Are you crazy?" Mike exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah really. I can't do that." Dave added.  
  
"Fine. Then break up with her. And when I say break up with her, I mean let her down in the nicest way possible." Jeff directed.  
  
"Jeff, what is up with you lately? I'm not breaking up with her." Dave said.  
  
"Yeah that would be incredibly stupid. I mean, he's in the perfect relationship!" Mike exclaimed.  
  
"She's a good kid, she doesn't deserve this." Jeff insisted.  
  
"Oh God, not this again." Dave muttered.  
  
"Yeah really." Mike echoed.  
  
Jeff turned and glared at him. "Mike would it kill you, to, for once, think for yourself?" He snapped. "Stop going along with everything Dave says. If you would stop listening to him and think for yourself for two fucking seconds you would realize that what he's doing to Rei is wrong and that she doesn't deserve to be tricked like this. She thinks the two of them are really in love and that's not fair to her."  
  
Dave and Mike exchanged glances and started snickering. "You know Mike, I think someone's got a little crush on Rei." Dave commented.  
  
Jeff glared at him without denying it. "You two are the most immature assholes I have ever met in my life." He said before walking away and leaving the two standing there.  
  
*******************  
  
"Penny for your thoughts?"  
  
Startled, Victoria looked up and noticed Queen Serenity looking down at her.  
  
"Sure, have a seat." She said clearing a space on the couch next to her.  
  
"So what's up?" Serenity asking sitting beside her.  
  
"Well I was just thinking, the girls are going to be 18 soon." She started slowly.  
  
"Yes I noticed that also."  
  
"Do you think we should betroth them?" Victoria asked. "I mean, pretty soon after this whole Beryl thing is over with, the others are going to have to go home to their respective planets and start the reign, and well I just think it would be better to have them already engaged."  
  
"True. But to betroth them?" Serenity questioned. "I don't know how comfortable I would feel doing that to Serin. Especially if the person that I choose for her does not love her, and vice versa. I personally think that nothing good comes from arranged marriages, and it makes things harder on both partners."  
  
"My marriage was arranged." Victoria said quietly.  
  
Serenity looked over at her in surprise. "Your marriage was arranged?" She asked.  
  
Victoria nodded. "Not many people were told about it, and we ended up falling in love before we married anyway."  
  
"So it worked out for the two of you, but that doesn't mean it will for everyone else." She pointed out gently.  
  
"I realize that, but I think that I would be a lot more comfortable knowing that Rei will be taken care of." Victoria explained. She saw the hesitance on her sister's face and continued. "And if she really and truly hates the idea, then fine, she doesn't have to go through with it. I'm not making a repeat of what we just got over." She said smiling slightly.  
  
"Just out of curiosity, why even bother then? I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to let her choose on her own?" Serenity questioned.  
  
"I don't know, I just feel safer knowing that she will always be taken care of. Just in case I can't always be there for her." She responded quietly.  
  
"Vicki, is there something you aren't telling me?" Serenity asked in alarm.  
  
"No, nothing's wrong." She said faking a smile. 'Nothing that you need to worry about yet anyway.' She thought.  
  
"Okay, if you say so." Serenity said, unconvinced. "So who were you planning on betrothing Rei to?" She asked changing the subject.  
  
"Well, my first thought would be the Prince, but I know that he and Serin are together." Victoria started. "So then I decided that it would be best to engage her to one of the guards. I mean, she knows them all so well already, and she seems to get along well with them. So, seeing as the only one who is not already seeing one of Serin's guardians is Kunzite, I talked to his parents, and we decided to engage the two, and let them choose what they want to do."  
  
"Kunzite?" She exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, why is he that bad?" Victoria asked.  
  
"No it's not that. I mean he's a wonderful person, it's just, well he doesn't really seem that much like Rei's type." Serenity explained.  
  
"Who would you suggest?" Victoria asked.  
  
"I don't know, what about Jeadite?" She suggested.  
  
"Jeadite?" Victoria exclaimed. "No way! He's my daughter's best friend, but I really don't think either of them wants to marry each other!"  
  
She shrugged. "Just a thought."  
  
Victoria laughed. "Why would you even suggest Jeadite?" She questioned.  
  
"I don't know, I just think there's something about those two. I just have a weird feeling about them, that's all." She defended.  
  
Victoria shook her head and gathered her work up. She turned back to Serenity. "But Jeadite?" She asked laughing again.  
  
*******************  
  
Serin hummed softly to herself as she fixed her hair while looking in the mirror. She spun around in a circle, showing off her dress to Luna. "So how do I look?" She asked.  
  
Luna smiled at her. "Very nice, I assume you are going to meet Prince Endymion?" She questioned.  
  
She nodded excitedly. "He should be here any minute." Serin noted looking at the clock on her night table. A knock on the door was heard a moment later. "He's here!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Well what are you waiting for? Your prince awaits you." The small cat said.  
  
After looking in the mirror one more time, Serin answered the door.  
  
"Good evening m'lady." Endymion said bowing.  
  
She smiled shyly at him. "Good evening.  
  
"I must say you look gorgeous tonight." He said, taking her hand in his own and softly bringing it to his lips.  
  
"Thank you." She said.  
  
"So, shall we go?" He questioned, offering her his arm.  
  
"Where are we going anyway?" Serin asked curiously as the two walked through the halls of the palace.  
  
"Well first, I thought we could go for dinner, and then for a moonlight walk down by the lake." Endymion suggested.  
  
She smiled sweetly at him. "I'd like that."  
  
*******************  
  
Rei was about to walk into the throne room, where her mom had asked her to meet her, when she walked right into Kunzite, who seemed to be heading in the same direction.  
  
"Sumimasen." She said looking down at her shoes, knowing he must hate her.  
  
"Rei, I want to apologize." He said.  
  
She looked up. "But I just walked into you; you have no reason to apologize." She said in confusion.  
  
He smiled lightly at her. "I mean about what happened before."  
  
"Oh." She said looking away once more. "Look, I know what happened. After I ran off, Ami or whoever discovered that Nephlite was seriously hurt, so everyone blamed it on me because I was such an idiot, so then everyone decided to hate me, and now you are feeling guilty about it. Am I right?" She asked.  
  
"Actually," He said calmly. "You couldn't be more wrong."  
  
She looked over at him, the surprise obvious on his face. 'What are you talking about?" She questioned.  
  
"What really happened is, after you left, Serin yelled at us all for yelling at you. She said something about how it wasn't our right to yell at you, if anything she should have been the one to say something to you because she is the Princess. And after she said that, I kind of thought back to what we had all said to you and well I wanted to apologize. I do feel bad about what I said. You didn't deserve anything to that extent. Gomen." Kunzite explained bowing slightly to her.  
  
"Please, not more apologies. I made a stupid mistake, and I deserved to be yelled at." She held up a hand to stop him from protesting. "Maybe not to that extent, but whatever. Either way, I accept your apology and I can only hope you accept mine."  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet with someone in the throne room." She said  
  
"Actually, so do I." He commented.  
  
"Well then we might as well head in." She said brightly as the two walked in the room.  
  
"Mother!" Kunzite cried. The two had arrived in the Throne Room to see Queen Victoria, and another woman who was obviously Kunzite's mother. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Rei walked over to her mother and hugged her. "So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" She asked. "And why is Kunzite's mother here?" She asked in a quieter voice.  
  
Victoria smiled at her. "We have a surprise for the two of you. I'll explain the whole thing in a minute. First, you might want to introduce yourself."  
  
"Oh right." Rei said as she walked over to Kunzite's mother and curtseyed. "I am Princess Rei of Mars; it's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Hajimashite." She said curtseying back to Rei. "My name is Jenna, and as I am sure you have all ready figured out, I am Kunzite's mother."  
  
"Yes but what are you doing here?" He pressed.  
  
"I guess we should tell them huh?" Jenna asked looking over at Victoria.  
  
"Well, I realized that you are going to be 18 in a few months." Victoria said looking towards Rei. "And I decided that it might be a good idea to make sure that you will be taken care of. Plus the fact that soon you will be moving back to Mars to resume your place as Queen."  
  
"Mom, what are you trying to say?" Rei asked in confusion.  
  
"Well, I talked to Jenna, and the two of us decided, that if the two of you agree, we'd betroth you." She explained.  
  
Rei and Kunzite stared at their mothers. "Betroth us?" He managed to get out.  
  
Jenna nodded. "We figured that most of the guardians of the Prince and the Princess would be together at some point, and you two go well together."  
  
Rei glared at her mother. "I can't believe you would do this without asking me first."  
  
Victoria smiled at her. "I didn't. It's still not final; it's just that I want to make sure someone will be there for you when I'm not."  
  
"Is something wrong?" Rei asked in alarm.  
  
Her mother shook her head. "Of course not sweetie. But I will die eventually, and I want to make sure you are taken care of."  
  
"And I feel the same way." Jenna said.  
  
"But mom, and Rei no offense to you on this, but I want to marry someone because I love them. And Rei is a wonderful person, but I don't love her." Kunzite explained gently.  
  
Victoria turned to Rei. "Do you feel the same way?" She asked.  
  
Rei nodded. "Besides the fact that I already have a boyfriend, whom I love very much."  
  
Victoria and Jenna looked at each other. "Well I guess our plan fell apart huh?" Jenna asked.  
  
"Well I don't want to force them to marry some one they don't love. If they two of you really don't like the idea, well then we won't continue it." Victoria agreed.  
  
"Thanks mom." Rei said hugging her mother as Kunzite did the same to his.  
  
"Now if you'll excuse us, we have a meeting we have to get to." Kunzite said as the two left the room.  
  
Once outside they turned to look at each other. "That was really strange." Rei commented.  
  
He nodded. "That isn't like my mom to agree to something like that."  
  
"I think something's going on, and no one feels like telling us what the hell it is." (See AuthorÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Note)  
  
*******************  
  
Later, after Serin and Endymion had enjoyed a romantic candlelit dinner, they walked along the lake until the came to a wooden swing, where they sat down.  
  
"Endymion, are you alright?" Serin questioned. "You've seemed so out of it tonight."  
  
"I'm fine." He said smiling at her. "I've just had something on my mind."  
  
"Care to share what's wrong? Maybe I can help." She said snuggling against him as he put his arm around her neck.  
  
"Maybe you can." He said. "Serin, every since I have met you, you have been the most wonderful thing in my life. You are always there to brighten my life, and you are always there to brighten a bad situation."  
  
Serin was quiet for a minute. "Endy, I'm not really sure what you're trying to say." She said finally.  
  
He smiled. "Good, then I get the element of surprise on my side. That helps a bit." He stood up and moved in front of her, and knelt down on one knee.  
  
"Um, sweetie what are you doing?" Serin asked nervously.  
  
"Something that I have wanted to do since the first time I kissed you and the first time I looked into your eyes, the first time I heard you laugh with joy." Endymion said seriously.  
  
"Sweetie," She started  
  
"Just trust me on this Serin, I know what I'm doing." He said.  
  
She nodded slightly. "Okay."  
  
He took a deep breath and continued. "As I was saying before, you are the one person that I fight for. The reason that I get up everyday, the reason that I would lay my life down in an instant is you, and it always will be."  
  
Tears were starting to come to Serin's eyes.  
  
"I have never felt this way before, and I never want this feeling to end." Endymion paused for a moment as he pulled a small black velvet box out of his coat pocket. He opened it and revealed to her a gold ring with a small crescent shaped moon filled with small diamonds on the front. In the crest of the diamond was a small sapphire. "The moon represents you, and the sapphire represents the Earth." He explained. "And just like the ring, I want the Earth and the Moon to be together forever." He held the ring up to her. "I love you more than life itself, Princess Serenity of the Moon, will you marry me?"  
  
She smiled as she nodded happily, tears glistening in her eyes. "I love you so much." She said throwing her arms around his neck.  
  
He pulled away and took her small, delicate hand in his own, sliding the ring onto her finger.  
  
Serin looked down at the ring, then back at Endymion and hugged him tightly again. "I think, that this is by far, the happiest day of my life!" She whispered softly to him.  
  
He gently stroked her face. "I think it's the happiest of mine too." He whispered back before kissing her.  
  
*******************  
  
"Jeadite." A voice called.  
  
Jade looked around his room, only to see no one. "Who's there?" He called. "Show yourself." As he watched a woman slowly came out of the shadows. She had long hair, wild and untamed, and a color so red no fire could compare. Her eyes burned of a bright green, and she almost passed as beautiful, if not for the look those eyes held. A look filled with pure evil. "You have a lot of nerve showing your face around here." He spat out. "You're the bitch that took Zoisite."  
  
"Zoisite was a smart man. He came by himself, I did not take him." She said calmly. "Oh, and for your information, the name is Beryl. Queen Beryl."  
  
"I know that's a lie. Zoi would not desert us. You must have done something. And for you information, I don't care what your name is." He retorted.  
  
"Oh you will care. Once you are serving me and the Negaverse." She said.  
  
"I serve Endymion, and I plan on doing so until I die. And even when I do die, it will be protecting him. Nothing would make me stop and I don't know what kind of brainwashing you did on Zoisite to make him stop either." He said.  
  
"I told you, I did nothing. I simply told him all that he could have in the dark kingdom. We will supply you with food, shelter, a job, a family, women, and protection. Everything you could ever want." Beryl promised.  
  
"No thanks." Jade sneered. "I have everything I want. Friends, family, a job, food, protection, shelter, a duty, everything I need so I will be seeing you. Bye now."  
  
"What about someone to love?" She asked him.  
  
"You are talking to the wrong person about love." He said laughing. "I don't need it, want it, or care for it."  
  
"Oh really?" She asked, almost amused by his speech. "Then what about her?" She waved her hand and a holographic image of someone appeared.  
  
Jeadite stared at the picture silently for a minute. "I don't love her." He said through clenched teeth.  
  
"Well then, I guess you wouldn't mind if something happened to her right?" Beryl waved her hand once again and another image replaced the first. This once showed the same woman, but fighting against Jade and the others. "Didn't like that one? Try this?" Beryl said laughing at his reaction. The image grew even worse. This one showed the woman being tortured by Beryl.  
  
"You wouldn't." Jade said softly, his tough exterior broken.  
  
"I really don't think you can afford to try me can you?" She asked.  
  
He sighed in defeat. "What do you want from me?" He asked.  
  
She leaned closer to him and whispered, "I want you. I want a strong, fierce determined warrior who will lead in for the Dark Kingdom in the battle against the Moon Kingdom. And you are the perfect person for the job."  
  
Jade angrily pushed her away, "What are you crazy?" He shouted. "Never!"  
  
She shrugged, "Fine but remember what happens to your love. Because if you love her, like I know you do, you wouldn't let her be taken by the Dark Kingdom, would you? And that is what will happen if you don't come."  
  
He felt his breath get caught in his throat. She really would do it, and there was nothing he could do to stop her other then going over to the side of the Dark Kingdom.  
  
"If I join you," He started slowly; "Will you promise that she will be left alone?"  
  
"Well I can't promise that she won't be hurt. I mean there is going to be a war on the Moon Kingdom you know." Beryl said shrugging.  
  
"That's not what I asked." He said sharply.  
  
"Geez, calm down. I can tell you that I have no plans of singling her out and killing her." 'That will be your job.' She added silently.  
  
"One more question." Jeadite said. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tell everyone what you are planning on doing so they can all bust your ass before you have time to realize what is going on."  
  
"Oh did I forget to mention that?" She asked innocently. "Either way, I don't care if you come, or she does, if you tell anyone, ANYONE, she will be killed, in a slow torturous way in which you will be forced to watch."  
  
He winced, his heart and soul breaking at just the thought.  
  
"You have two days to decide. I will be back then. And remember, tell anyone and she dies." Beryl's voice echoed as she left.  
  
End of Chapter Ten  
  
Translations:  
  
Gomen: I'm sorry.  
  
Onegai: Please, for me?  
  
Ne: Right?  
  
Sumimasen: Excuse me  
  
Hajimashite: Pleased to meet you  
  
Okay the whole part with Rei and KunziteÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s parentÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s trying to get them engaged, well there were two reasons for why I wrote that. One has to do with ReiÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mom, which you will find out in a later chapter of As the Tears Fell. The other reason was because it was originally going to have a connection to a later story, one of the present time stories, and I needed to lay the groundwork here. If I ever do even write that story, this connection probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t even fit anymore. So yeah it is a random and pointless part and originally had a big importance in a later chapter, but is now basically pointless. Sorry for the randomness! Thanks again for all who are reading this and reviewing and adding me to their lists and what. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s soooo greatly appreciated! Look for the next part in a few days to a week. 


	12. Chapter 11

Okay lots of notes for this one, so just take a minute and read through them quickly please. Thank you!  
  
I changed the song once again. It was originally "Have You Ever" by Brandy, but I want to use the song in this chapter in a chapter in Courage Under Fire as well and that just didn't work as well. It will make sense if I ever get around to rewriting Courage Under Fire. You'll see eventually, prrrrrrrromise. So the song being used is "Your Own Disaster" by Taking Back Sunday, all rights reserved, and half of it fits perfect with this chapter, half with the chapter of Courage Under Fire. So just bare with it, it will eventually make sense. I'm also trying to play aorund with html on here so please let me know if it looks weird.  
  
Speaking of feedback, thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews as usual!  
  
Missy - thank you for being such a faithful reader and always updating! Enjoy the chapter!  
  
Moi - Thank you for the review, and you'll see what happens with Jed at the end of this chapter. ^_-  
  
Prince-Demando - Thank you!!!!! That was the best review I'd gotten in a while, it made my day! I tried to email you but your email address didn't work. Please let me know a way I can get in touch with you!  
  
Lady Fenix - thank you so much for a wonderful review. It was a great one to receive, and I probably have been too lazy to ever getting around to reviewing your stories, A Roomful of Casablanca's in particular, but I absolutely love them. I can't wait for more of that and Daycare. Such great stories!  
  
Please keep the reviews coming, I love them and I promise they really do motivate me!  
  
One last note, and this one is important. Most of you know this translation I'm sure, but for those who don't, it's important that you know ahead of time that Ai Shiteru means I love you. Enjoy the chapter!  
  
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter ElevenBR  
  
By MCRKBR  
  
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"Knock Knock." Serin said as she poked her head in the doorway. "You ready to go yet?" BR BR  
  
Rei emerged from her bedroom a moment later. "Yeah sorry about the wait." BR  
  
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"No problem." She said, looking around the incredibly neat room. "How is it possible for a room to be this neat? It's like Ami's, God it's almost sickening." She commented. BR  
  
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Rei rolled her eyes. "It's called cleaning, you should try it sometime." BR  
  
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"What and put the maids out of a job?" She joked. BR  
  
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"You're right that would just be to cruel." Rei agreed as she locked the door and the two started down the hall. BR  
  
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"Totally against my sweet innocent nature." Serin agreed. BR  
  
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"You know Ren, maybe this isn't such a good idea." She said stopping in front of the large wooden door. BR  
  
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"What are you talking about?" Serin asked in concern. BR  
  
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"I don't know, I think they all still hate me." She said uneasily. BR  
  
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"Well that's why we are going together. Besides didn't you say you talked to Kunzite and he forgave you?" Serin asked. BR  
  
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"Yeah, but that's only one person." She pointed out. BR  
  
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"And me. Look, don't worry about it ok? I'm sure that will all forgive you once we get in there and talk to everyone." Serin said gently. BR  
  
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"I don't know, maybe I should just not go." Rei said glancing nervously at the large wooden door in front of her. BR  
  
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"Rei you have to come! I have a huge announcement to make and you have to be there to hear it!" BR  
  
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"What announcement?" Rei asked curiously. BR  
  
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"Um, the one I didn't tell you about yet. But the only reason I can't tell you is cause you are gonna scream." Serin added quickly. BR  
  
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She sighed. "Ok whatever, let's just go in." BR  
  
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The two pushed the doors opened and walked into the conference room. As soon as they did, all the others stopped talking, making it obvious what they had been talking about. BR  
  
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'Well it's now or never.' Rei thought as Kunzite sent her a reassuring smile. "Hey everyone." BR  
  
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Everyone mumbled hellos as Serin went over and sat down next to Endymion, who immediately put his arms around her. Rei followed with her eyes and noticed Nephlite, whose arms was in a white sling. She cringed slightly at the sight. BR  
  
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He noticed. "Rei, it's not broken, just a slight sprain. It will be back to good in no time." Nephlite said gently. BR  
  
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She sighed in relief. "I really am sorry about this whole thing. I know it was my fault and I--"BR  
  
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"It's okay. I don't blame you for any of this, and even if I did, I forgive you." BR  
  
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She stopped in mid sentence when she heard his words, and stared at him for a moment. "You do?" She asked. BR  
  
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He smiled at her. "We all do." BR  
  
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The others nodded their agreement. "Rei, you're one of us. We aren't going to hate you forever every time you mess up." Makoto told her. BR  
  
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"You're stuck with us." Minako said smiling. BR  
  
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"It was a mistake that could have happened to anyone." Endymion said, hugging Serin closer. BR  
  
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"No one's perfect." Ami added. BR  
  
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"Besides, we missed you." Jade said softly. BR  
  
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Rei looked over at him in surprise, and remembering what Serin and Jeff had said earlier, she smiled slightly at him. "Thanks you guys." She said taking the seat next to Ami. BR  
  
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The room was silent for a few minutes. BR  
  
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"So what was the point of this meeting again?" Minako asked. finally. BR  
  
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"Oh My God!" Serin exclaimed jumping up. "I forgot all about the announcement!" BR  
  
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As she stood up, the others noticed something reflect off her left hand. "Serin..." Ami started. BR  
  
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She smiled and held out her left hand so that everyone could see the ring sparkling on her finger. "We're engaged." BR  
  
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The girls in the room started screaming as they ran over to hug Serin. BR  
  
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The guys, however, were sitting there trying to regain their hearing. BR  
  
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"God, that scream is deafening." Jade commented. BR  
  
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Nephlite turned to Endymion and sighed. "You see what you did now?" BR  
  
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He just shrugged and smiled. BR  
  
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"Oh you're one to talk Neph. You're the one that started this whole engagement thing by proposing to Makoto." Kunzite pointed out. BR  
  
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"Would you guys be quiet!" Minako scolded before turning back to Serin. "Congrats!" BR  
  
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Ami hugged her oldest friend. "This is so wonderful!" BR  
  
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"I'm so happy for you." Makoto said hugging her. BR  
  
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Rei was about to congratulate her when she dropped to her knees as a sudden feeling of terror gripped her. BR  
  
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"Rei!" Serin cried as she knelt down beside her. BR  
  
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"Rei, what is it? Are you okay?" Ami questioned. BR  
  
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Rei rocked back and forth on her knees as the pain increased. "Something's wrong." BR  
  
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* * *BR  
  
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"So that's it?" BR  
  
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"I really am sorry but there isn't much else we can do." The doctor said apologetically. "We've put you on the waiting list, but it's not very likely that you'll be fortunate enough to receive a donor." BR  
  
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Victoria sighed. "Any idea, um, of how long it will be?" BR  
  
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"Without a donor," He paused for a moment, "Without a donor, it probably won't be more then two months." BR  
  
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She nodded as she bit her lip, trying to restrain herself from screaming out. 'Two months.'BR  
  
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"I'm very sorry." BR  
  
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'I'm sure you are.' She thought. "If you don't mind, I'd like to spend the rest of my time at home with my family." BR  
  
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He nodded. "Of course, whatever you wish. You may experience slight pain from time to time, so if you do make sure you call and let me know so we can prescribe some painkillers for you." BR  
  
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Victoria stood up from the hospital bed and gathered her things. "Are we done doctor?" She asked. BR  
  
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"Actually, there have been some amazing new discoveries being made." He started, his voice taking on a hint of excitement. "Of course they haven't been able to be tested yet so we were wondering--"BR  
  
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"If you don't mind," She interrupted him rather harshly at first before calming herself. "If you don't mind, I'd rather spend my last time alone at home with my family." BR  
  
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"Oh." He said, his voice, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Of course. Well then," he said leading her to the door. "You're still going to have to come back for check-ups, so we'll call you about that tomorrow. Have a good day." He said as she went down the hall. BR  
  
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Victoria walked outside and leaned her head against the brick wall as she finally let the tears come. 'How am I going to tell them?'BR  
  
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* * *BR  
  
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"Rei, where are you taking me?" Serin asked as she was blindly led through the halls. BR  
  
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"You'll see in a few minutes." She replied. BR  
  
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"Well can I at least look where we are going?" Serin asked. BR  
  
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"Not yet, turn here." She instructed as she looked down at her watch. '2:21. Two more BRminutes.' She thought as the two reached their destination.  
  
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"Okay, now that we've stopped can I look?" Serin asked. BR  
  
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"In about fifteen seconds." Rei responded as she counted softly under her breath. "15...14...13...12...11...10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2....1!" when she reached one she flung open the door. BR  
  
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Serin opened her eyes as light flooded before her, and watched in amazement as everyone jumped out and yelled,. "Surprise"BR  
  
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She gasped in surprise and happiness, all of the scouts and generals, minus Zoisite, were there. BR  
  
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"Happy birthday Serin." Rei said hugging her. BR  
  
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"You guys did all this for me?" She asked, touched that they went through all the trouble for her. BR  
  
BR  
  
"Well we know how much you hate the huge ball your mom throws every year." Ami said shrugging. BR  
  
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"So we decided to throw you our own party." Minako continued. BR  
  
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"It was all Rei's idea though." Makoto said. BR  
  
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"Thanks Rei." Serin said. BR  
  
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She smiled as she shrugged. "Hey that's what best friends are for. Now come on, let's make this like an actual party! BR  
  
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***********Few Hours Later***********BR  
  
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"You guys, I can't tell you how much this meant to me." Serin said. BR  
  
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"Happy birthday Serin." Endy said kissing her. BR  
  
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"So why is it that you hate the ball your mom throws each year?" Kunzite asked. BR  
  
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She rolled her eyes. "Because she makes the biggest deal out of it. She invites everyone in the kingdom and we have this whole big ceremony, and it is so embarrassing!" She moaned. BR  
  
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"And I get to take you." Endymion said putting his arms around her. BR  
  
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She smiled back at him. "You better be." BR  
  
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"Um Serin I'm sorry to leave the party right in the middle but I'm not feeling too well. Would you mind terribly if I went back to my room to lay down and get some rest?" Ami asked, trying to keep the sadness she felt out of her voice. 'This is supposed to be a party.' She reminded herself. BR  
  
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"No that's fine Ames. Are you gonna be ok?" Serin asked in concern. BR  
  
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"Yeah I just have a bad headache. But happy birthday." She said before running out of the room. BR  
  
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"That was kinda strange." Nephlite commented. BR  
  
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"No it's not." Jade said just realizing why she was so upset. BR  
  
BR  
  
"What are you talking about?" Minako asked. BR  
  
BR  
  
"We were all talking about the ball, and it probably reminded her of how much she missed Zoisite." He explained. BR  
  
BR  
  
"Oh that's right." Serin groaned. "Now I feel horrible." BR  
  
BR  
  
"Don't let it get to you Serin, we all forgot." Rei said. BR  
  
BR  
  
"Yeah so let's change the topic slightly, is everyone else going tomorrow night?" Makoto questioned. BR  
  
BR  
  
"Jade and I are going together." Minako volunteered softly. BR  
  
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"What about you Kunz, you going?" Nephlite asked. BR  
  
BR  
  
"Yeah of course. It's Serin's birthday." He replied, trying to keep his gaze off Minako. BR  
  
BR  
  
"I'm going with Nephlite, obviously." Lita said. "What about you Rei? You going?" BR  
  
BR  
  
"Oh I almost for got to tell you guys. Dave's coming to the ball tomorrow night." Rei exclaimed happily. BR  
  
BR  
  
"So we finally get to meet him?" Serin asked. BR  
  
BR  
  
"Yeah I finally convinced him to come." She responded. BR  
  
BR  
  
"Wait, who's Dave?" Nephlite asked in confusion. BR  
  
BR  
  
Jade slumped down against the couch at the mention of Dave. BR  
  
BR  
  
"He's my boyfriend." Rei explained. BR  
  
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"So are his two friends going to be there too?" Minako asked. BR  
  
BR  
  
"Jeff and Mike? Yeah I would assume they are going." BR  
  
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"So how serious are you two?" Endymion asked. "If you don't mind talking about it that is." BR  
  
BR  
  
She shook her head. "It's no big deal. I would guess we're pretty serious, we've been seeing each other for about four months." BR  
  
BR  
  
"And we are still only meeting him for the first time tomorrow." Makoto pointed out. BR  
  
BR  
  
"I met him." BR  
  
BR  
  
Rei looked over uncomfortably at Jade. "Yeah see, Jed met him." BR  
  
BR  
  
Minako looked over at him. "So what did you think of him?" She asked eagerly. BR  
  
BR  
  
"Truthfully, I thought he was a complete asshole." Jade said matter of factly. BR  
  
BR  
  
Rei glared at him. "Thanks, I appreciated that comment." BR  
  
BR  
  
"She asked what I thought." He defended. BR  
  
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"Well what really matters is what you think of him Rei." Serin said gently. BR  
  
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"I love him and I think he's a wonderful person." She said. BR  
  
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"So do you think he's he one?" Kunzite asked softly. BR  
  
BR  
  
She looked thoughtfully for a minute before answering. "I don't know. Maybe."  
  
Jade sat up straighter at this. 'Maybe she doesn't love him anymore. Maybe she'll break up with him and realize how much she loves me and--' He forced himself back to reality as he sunk back down against the couch. 'Get real Jade. You just insulted her boyfriend, she's pissed at you already, and you are supposed to be over her!'  
  
"Really? So why bother staying with him?" Nephlite asked curiously.  
  
"I don't know." She said shrugging. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I really do love him, and if he asked me, I would marry him, but I don't know. Never mind, it's gonna sound stupid."  
  
"Oh come on Rei, we're used to Serin, and everything she says is stupid, so it can't be to bad." Minako said smiling as she dodged the pillow that came flying from Serin's direction.  
  
She hesitated for a moment. "I just feel like he isn't the one that I was meant to be with. Like there is still someone else out there waiting for me, someone that I was destined to be with. But I'm sure that sounds really dumb."  
  
"I don't know, I think it makes a lot of sense. If I didn't believe that Endy was really the one that I was meant to be with, I would never have agreed to marry him." Serin said.  
  
"Same with me." Makoto volunteered.  
  
"So how did you guys know when you found the right person?" Rei persisted.  
  
"It's hard to explain the feeling that occurs, but when you find the right person, you'll know, trust me." Nephlite said, smiling at Makoto.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll find that special person." Endymion said.  
  
"Easy for you to say." Minako exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah you have Serin." Rei put in.  
  
"Yeah you guys are past the hard part. You know that you love each other and are right for one another." Jade said, looking over at Serin and Endymion who knew who he was talking about.  
  
"Yeah, you guys don't have to wonder if that special person will ever become part of your life." Kunzite said sadly, trying to keep his eyes away from Minako.  
  
"Not to sound unsympathetic or anything, but maybe you'll find someone at the ball tomorrow, so let's all leave, and get some sleep so tomorrow will come sooner and you can all find your true loves." Serin suggested.  
  
"You know Serin, if you want to be alone with Endymion you could have just said so, we would have left." Jade said smiling lightly at the two as everyone stood up.  
  
"Yeah I know. But he is leaving too, which is why I didn't say it." She said smiling at the surprised look on Endymion's face.  
  
"You're kicking me out?" He asked.  
  
"Yes. I am incredibly..." She paused to yawn, "...tired. The ball is tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep."  
  
"You are already beautiful." Endymion said kissing her.  
  
"Bye Serin." Minako called.  
  
"Bye you guys." She said as the two broke the kiss. "I'll see you all tomorrow."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey Jade, wait up."  
  
Jade turned around to see Endymion walk up next to him. "What's up?" He asked.  
  
"Well I figured that since our rooms are in the same direction, we might as well walk together right?"  
  
"I should feel honored. You were able to tear yourself from your beloved fiancee to walk with old, pathetic me." He said sarcastically.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't realize it bothered you that much." Endy said uncomfortably.  
  
"It doesn't really. I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything." He sighed. 'Just like I shouldn't have said anything about Dave.'  
  
"This whole thing with Rei huh?"  
  
"Yeah. It got to a point where I really didn't even know what to do about it anymore. Cause there was nothing that I could do about it you know?" Jade asked as they kept walking. "Which is why I reached a very important decision."  
  
"What decision would that be?" Endymion asked.  
  
"I decided that I am no longer going to love her."  
  
Endymion stopped walking and stared at Jade. "You're kidding right?" He asked.  
  
Jade shook his head. "I'm dead serious. It's not worth it anymore. You know how a few minutes ago Minako said that the two of us were going to the ball together?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"She didn't ask me, I asked her."  
  
Endymion stared at his friend. Only a few days ago he was deeply in love with Rei. The love that Jade obviously felt towards her was not simple puppy love, but something much, much deeper, and could not disappear in an instant. "What the hell was all that then when we were talking about finding our true loves?" He asked.  
  
Jade glared at him. "It didn't mean anything, besides that's not what I was talking about. Look, she doesn't love me and she never will. So I've moved on and accepted the fact. Why can't you?" He snapped as he continued to walk forward.  
  
"Jade." He said, catching up to him again, and grabbing his arm to stop him. "Don't do this to yourself."  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Try and convince yourself that you don't really love her, and that you never really did. That you were only fooling yourself because you wanted someone to love."  
  
Jade freed his arm and looked over at him. "Endy, I understand what you're saying, but I'm not doing that. I know that I loved her, the love that I felt for her was so strong that I felt it could conquer anything." He paused for a moment, and when he resumed talking, his voice had gotten quieter. "But it couldn't. I can't change the way she feels about anything, and she doesn't feel the same way about me. I have to respect that, and move on in my life."  
  
"But what if she discovers one day that she really does love you?" Endymion asked. "Then what?"  
  
"I can't sit around, and waste my life, waiting for her to one day discover that all along she has really loved me. I would love for it to happen, but it's not going to. I've got to move on with my life." With that said, he turned and headed down the hallway.  
  
* * *  
  
"Can I open my eyes yet?"  
  
"In a minute, let me make sure it looks ok...okay, now you can open them."  
  
Dave opened his eyes and gazed over at his girlfriend. The night of the ball had finally come, the one for Princess Serenity's 18th birthday.  
  
"So what do you think?" Rei asked.  
  
Dave was speechless.  
  
She smiled. "I never realized I had such an effect on you." She looked gorgeous. Her dress was a deep crimson color, with sleeves that left her shoulders bare, and came three quarters of the way down her arms. The bodice was tightly fitted and cut dangerously low, and the bottom part flowed outwards, making her look incredibly graceful. The top part, along with the sleeves, was made of satin, and along the neckline there were small sparkling sequins in a row, and the bottom part was made of soft crushed velvet. Her hair had been curled and piled on top of her head, leaving a few curls hanging down at various places. Also in her hair were small thin pieces of velvet, the same material as the dress, that were somehow curled and placed in her hair to make it look natural. A choker made of ruby and onyx along with matching earrings, completed the outfit. All together, she looked absolutely breath taking.  
  
"Rei, you look absolutely stunning!" Dave exclaimed, taking her in her arms.  
  
She smiled happily. "You really like it?" She asked.  
  
"I love it." He said kissing her. "Of course I would love it even more if it was off..." He added.  
  
She blushed slightly.  
  
"You know Rei, I was wondering..." He whispered to her. He looked into her eyes. "After the ball, how would you like to come back to my room with me?"  
  
She looked away for a moment, assuming he was joking, but when she looked back again she could tell that he was dead serious. "I don't know Dave, I mean it's kind of a big step."  
  
"Oh it's okay. I understand, no big deal." He said, hoping that she would buy the act.  
  
She did. "You know what, I'd loved too." She said smiling at him.  
  
He smiled at her. "Really?" He asked.  
  
She nodded. "Yeah. But I'm gonna have to talk to you about this later."  
  
"Where are you going?" Dave questioned. "I thought I was taking you to the ball?"  
  
"You are, but I have to go get introduced first and everything." She said giving him a look that said he should have already known that.  
  
"Oh right." He said slapping himself on the forehead. "I totally forgot about that." He said, even thought he had no idea what she was talking about. "I'll meet you in there ok?"  
  
"Okay." Rei said as he kissed her on the cheek, and then headed inside.  
  
* * *  
  
Queen Serenity gazed at the crowded ballroom. People were already dancing and having a good time, now she just how to officially start the ball by introducing everyone. She stood in front of the microphone and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. The couples stopped dancing, and everyone turned toward the Queen. She smiled down at them. "Good evening. I'd like to thank you all for coming to the celebration of the Princess' 18th birthday!" Everyone applauded happily. "To start everything off, I'd like to introduce our visitors from Earth, the Prince and his guardians." She gestured to them to come forward, once their names were called. "The Prince's Commanding General, General Kunzite," She started. "Second in command, General Jeadite, and third in command, General Nephlite, who happens to be Princess Makoto's fiancee." She said smiling as the room erupted into cheers for the two. "And Prince Endymion of Earth."  
  
As the room burst into applause again, Jade scanned the room for Dave. He found him rather quickly, and as suspected, he was talking and flirting with some girl that Jade didn't know.  
  
"Now I will announce my daughter and her guardians, whom I am sure most of you know already." The queen continued with her introductions. "Commanding officer, Princess Minako of Venus. Second in command, Princess Rei of Mars. Third in command..."  
  
As the queen continued, Jade looked over towards Dave and noticed the frown that appeared on his face when he heard Rei's name called. 'Why does he look so annoyed and surprised?' He wondered.  
  
"...And Princes Serenity of the Moon." She paused for a moment before smiling and adding, "In addition to tonight being Serin's 18th birthday, we are also having this celebration to announce the engagement between Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity. May they be happy together." The room erupted once more into applause and cheers of happiness for the couple. "Now, let the party begin!" Queen Serenity cried as the dancing resumed.  
  
Jade turned and found Minako standing beside him. "Hi" she said.  
  
"Hey, wanna dance?" He asked, smiling at her.  
  
She forced a smile as she replied, "I'd love too."  
  
The two started dancing, and Minako started a conversation. "You know, the strangest thing happened to me..."  
  
Jade however, was not listening. He was watching Rei as she walked over to Dave, who still had that weird look on his face. He watched as the two obviously started arguing. Dave seemed to be angry about something, although what it was, Jade had no idea. After a few minutes, he was able to see Rei run towards the balcony as Dave stormed off somewhere.  
  
"...And then she actually told me that--"  
  
"Minako, I'm really sorry but I have to go." Jade said interrupting her.  
  
She followed his gaze and noticed Rei running out towards the balcony. 'About damn time.' She thought. "It's no problem."  
  
"I'm really sorry." He apologized.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Just go talk to her will you?" She said smiling at him.  
  
He threw her a grateful look and headed after Rei.  
  
* * *  
  
Minako watched Jade run out to the balcony, knowing who he was running after. She sighed. 'Well that's the end of that relationship.' She thought. 'But Rei and Jade deserve each other. I just hope they can get past their stubbornness and admit how they really feel about each other.' As her eyes roamed through the ballroom, she noticed Kunzite who was dancing with a young lunarian, and did not seem to happy about it. 'Well then let's relieve him of his partner.' She thought as she started over towards him.  
  
* * *  
  
Once outside Rei sat down on the stone bench, leaning against the wall, as she let the tears fall freely. 'How could I have been so stupid to think that he would love me?' She asked herself the same question over and over again.  
  
"Can I sit here?"  
  
Rei looked up to see Jade standing there. "Oh God." She moaned, drawing her knees to her chest to make room for him on the bench. "Please, you can sit, but I would rather you just go away."  
  
"You still hate me that much huh?" Jade asked softly.  
  
She looked over at him while drying her eyes. "Of course not. I just thought that because of this whole stupid thing you hated me."  
  
"Rei, I could never hate you, you're my best friend!" He exclaimed. "You mean the world to me." He added softly.  
  
"I don't deserve to even have you talking to me. I had no right to get so pissed off at you. I'm sorry, I just didn't know how to deal with my mom, so I took it out on you. Do you forgive me?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"Don't worry about it, I forgive you." He said shrugging.  
  
"At least one person doesn't hate me." She muttered.  
  
"You wanna talk about it?" Jade asked sympathetically.  
  
"He broke up with me."  
  
"Oh Rei, I'm sorry, I know how you felt about him."  
  
"I should have just listened to you when you said he was an asshole." Rei said sighing.  
  
"No, I shouldn't have said anything. It wasn't any of my business." He said shaking his head.  
  
She ignored his comment and continued talking. "I feel so stupid now. I should have known all along that he didn't really love me. Why would he?"  
  
"Rei," He tried to start.  
  
"Why is it that every guy I go out with ends up breaking up with me? What's wrong with me?" Rei asked looking up at him for answers.  
  
"Rei, there is nothing wrong with you. Any guy that breaks your heart, doesn't deserve to have it anyway. And there is nothing wrong with you, you are a wonderful person." He told her gently.  
  
"Yeah well Dave doesn't seem to think so." At the remembrance of what he had said to her, tears started to trickle down her cheeks again. "Do you wanna know what happened?" She asked, not waiting for him to answer, before continuing. "Apparently, he had never listened to me when I talked to him or something because he didn't know I was a Princess. At least not until tonight, when my name was announced. So then when I went over to talk to him or whatever, he started yelling at me, about how I had never told him I was a princess. And then, he called me a stuck up, rich, selfish, snob who only cared about herself." At this point in her story Rei had broken down into sobs. "The same thing every guys says to me once they realize I'm a princess. And since everyone says it, it must be true. Maybe all I really am is a snobby, selfish, stuck up, rich little princess who everyone hates."  
  
"Don't ever say that."  
  
Rei looked up to see Jade with the most serious look on his face she had ever seen. "Jed, just face it, it's true."  
  
"No it's not!" He said gently. "Rei, you are a wonderful person. You are kind, thoughtful, giving, caring, and the opposite of everything he called you. Please, don't ever say that you are any of those things, or that you are not special." He reached over and lifted her chin so he was gazing into her tear filled eyes. "You are the most special person in the entire world to me. I don't know what I would ever do without you. You mean everything to me."  
  
Her eyes refilled with tears at his words. "You are the only one who is ever going to think of me in that way!"  
  
He smiled at her as he gently wiped away her tears. "What I don't count anymore cause I'm only your best friend?"  
  
Rei found herself smiling slightly as she looked up at him. She looked deep into his eyes, and as she did, a strange feeling washed over her. Not the kind of feeling that she got when she was around her friends, or the feeling she got when she was around Dave. It was a new feeling. One that left butterflies in her stomach, and made her entire being felt like ice cream on an incredibly hot day in the sun. She started to blush deeply as she realized the closeness of the position the two were in and she pulled away.  
  
Jade was about to ask what was wrong, when Jeff walked out onto the balcony.  
  
* * *  
  
Dave walked over to the spot where Jeff and Mike were standing, with a disgusted look on his face. "Hey." He said once he got here.  
  
The two looked at him in confusion. "Where's Rei?" Mike asked.  
  
The look on Dave's face became and angry scowl. "We broke up."  
  
"She dumped you?" Jeff asked in disbelief.  
  
Dave glared at him. "Of course not, I dumped her."  
  
"Weren't you going to sleep with her tonight?" Mike asked.  
  
"Yes but obviously not anymore." Dave snapped.  
  
"Okay, let me see if I understand this." Jeff said. "You finally get her to agree to sleep with you, which is the whole reason you asked her out, and then you dump her?"  
  
He sighed. "Did either of you know that she was the Princess of Mars?"  
  
Jeff and Mike exchanged looks. "Um yeah Dave, pretty much everyone knows that." Mike pointed out.  
  
"You're kidding right?" He asked, looking at the two.  
  
"Dave, how could you not have known? I mean think about it. Her name for one thing, Rei, she is the same age as the Princess, she's from Mars, she lives here on the moon, in the palace and her best friend is Princess Serenity." Jeff explained.  
  
"Plus the fact that everyone knows that she is the princess because you can recognize her." Mike added.  
  
Dave stared at the two in surprise. "How did you know all this?" He asked.  
  
Jeff rolled his eyes. "Dave did you ever listen to a thing she said the whole time you guys were going out?"  
  
"Well yeah but--"  
  
"I still don't understand what that has to do with anything. So she is a princess, big deal." Mike cut in.  
  
"Hello!" Dave exclaimed. "She's a princess. Meaning that she is a spoiled, selfish, snobby, bitchy, stuck up, conceited, rich,"  
  
"Wait Dave, you didn't say that to her did you?" Jeff asked  
  
"Well yeah, why do you think I broke up wither her." Dave said pointedly.  
  
Jeff sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "You lie to her through the entire relationship and you gotta pick now to start telling her the truth about what you think?" He asked, as he turned to leave.  
  
"Where are you going?" Mike called out.  
  
He turned around. "I'm gonna go see if I can find her. You know how upset she's gonna be?"  
  
Dave walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jeff, I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but she's not gonna fall for you so I'd get over it." He said in mock sympathy.  
  
Jeff glared at him as he knocked his hand away. "Shut the hell up."  
  
"Oooh a little edgy there." Dave said as he and Mike started laughing.  
  
"You know I feel sorry for myself too." Jeff commented.  
  
"Why you realize how one sided your love for her is?" Dave asked.  
  
"Completely one sided." Mike agreed.  
  
"No I feel sorry that I wasted so many years and so much time hanging out with assholes like you two." He said.  
  
They frowned at this.  
  
"I mean you guys were my best friends, and I was too stupid to realize that you two are the biggest fucking assholes alive." He said glaring at them.  
  
"No, you just used to know how to have a good time." Dave sneered.  
  
"Well I'm sorry that I realized there was more to life than lying to people and fucking the first person you come across."  
  
"That's not what we do." Mike defended.  
  
"Oh right, I'm sorry. Fucking the first female that you come across. My deepest apologies." Jeff said sarcastically.  
  
Dave looked at him carefully, as if he was looking for a small difference. Something that would prove that this wasn't the Jeff that he knew. "I don't know what happened to you Jeff." He said slowly shaking his head. "And I don't care to find out. Have a nice life." With that said, Mike and Dave walked away, as Jeff headed out towards the balcony to see if he could find Rei and apologize for being such a jerk.  
  
* * *  
  
Kunzite nodded politely, trying to maintain interest in the conversation. But there was nothing he could do that would make this conversation interesting. His partner was downright boring and it was all he could do not to fall asleep on her. A moment later he heard footsteps approaching and saw Princess Minako smile at him.  
  
She tapped his partner on the shoulder. "May I cut in?" She asked politely.  
  
The lady turned, and once she noticed who it was, she steeped away. "Of course Princess Minako." She said as she walked away to find another partner.  
  
"Hey there." Minako said as the two started dancing.  
  
"Thank God you came!" Kunzite exclaimed happily. "I thought I was going to die of boredom!"  
  
She smiled wryly at him. "Yeah I kinda noticed."  
  
Suddenly the image of Jade, who was supposedly Minako's date, popped into Kunzite's mind. 'If he ditched her or stood her up I will kill him.' He vowed silently. "Not that I am not grateful to you for saving me from my dancing partner, but aren't you supposed to be with Jade?" He asked, regretting each word.  
  
"We did come together yes, but, well let's just say that things didn't really work out." She explained smiling.  
  
"He didn't just break up with you in the middle of the dance floor or something did he?" Kunzite questioned.  
  
She shook her head. "It was kind of a mutual agreement. He's kind of in love with someone else, he just didn't want to hurt me."  
  
Kunzite felt his anger die down. "That was nice of him." He commented.  
  
She nodded. "And it really didn't bother me that much because I discovered that I like someone else too."  
  
"Oh." He said dejectedly. "Well wouldn't you rather be dancing with him then?"  
  
Minako smiled at him. "I already am." She said before kissing him full on the lips.  
  
* * *  
  
Jade immediately started to glare at Jeff. "What are you doing here?" He asked.  
  
"Let me guess, Dave told you and Mike what happened so now you came out to bug me about it right" Rei asked angrily. "I should have known. You were in on the whole thing all along weren't you? When I talked to you, you were only adding to the charade."  
  
He was silent, she was right, he had known all along what Dave was planning on doing.  
  
"Yeah that's what I figured." Rei retorted.  
  
"Look Jeff, why don't you just leave? She's upset enough already." Jade told him.  
  
"No wait! Rei, I came out here to apologize to you." Jeff said, desperately trying to get them to listen to him.  
  
"Apologize?" She asked suspiciously.  
  
"If this is some sort of sick joke, I swear you will regret it." Jade warned.  
  
"It's not, I promise. Just give me a chance to explain myself. Please?" He asked.  
  
"Fine." Rei said looking at him expectantly.  
  
He took a deep breath, and began. "When you said that I had been in on it all along, and had gone along with the whole thing, you are only partially correct. I did know, from the very beginning, what he was planning on doing, but I only went a long with it for a little while." He turned to look at Jade. "That time, when you talked to Dave, what you said really made me think about what we were doing to Rei. After that, my perspective on things kinda changed."  
  
Rei looked over at Jade. "You talked to Dave?" She asked.  
  
He didn't answer, unsure of what to tell her.  
  
Jeff turned back to Rei. "I know that what I did is unforgivable, but I feel horrible that I went along with it at all, and the least I can do is apologize."  
  
Rei shook her head. "This is strange for me to do, but I forgive you."  
  
"You do?"  
  
She nodded. "I've wasted to much of my life being angry at people when they are truly sorry. It's not worth it anymore." She explained.  
  
"And I also want to tell you that when I talked to you that time, and gave you advice, I wasn't just doing that to go along with Dave's plans. I really was concerned and I really did listen to what was wrong."  
  
"Thank you for telling me."  
  
"Rei, apologizing to you wasn't the only reason I came out here though..." Jeff started slowly.  
  
She smiled. "What else could you possibly have to tell me?"  
  
"I'm assuming that you already discovered that the main reason Dave asked you out was to sleep with you, and that he only said he loved you for the same reasons right?" He asked.  
  
She nodded. "Yeah I kinda got that impression when he broke up with me."  
  
"And that's why I thought he was an asshole." Jade explained.  
  
Rei turned to look at Jade. "You knew about it?" She asked in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I knew about it from the time I met Dave. Remember that day when you introduced me to him, Jeff and Mike? After you left...well, I won't get into it, but I figured out that that was the reason he was going out with you." Jade explained. "And the reason that I didn't tell you was cause you weren't talking to me remember?" He added.  
  
She smiled sheepishly. "Oh yeah. Never mind." Turning back to Jeff she continued, "Keep going."  
  
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and continued. "I'm not really sure how to say this, and I guess there is really no easy way, so I'm just going to say I." He closed his eyes and blurted out, "During almost the entire four months that you and Dave were going out he was cheating on you."  
  
Silence.  
  
After a moment Jeff opened his eyes and looked over at Rei and Jade who were in complete shock. "The whole time?" She asked in astonishment.  
  
He nodded grimly. "I'm sorry that you had to find out this way, but I thought that you deserved to know." The crestfallen look on her face made him inwardly curse Dave for what felt like the millionth time. 'I can't believe he did this to her!' A moment later, he silently reminded himself, 'I can't believe I went along with it for so long.'  
  
"I can't believe he could be so cruel." Jade said in disbelief, shaking his head.  
  
"That time that I was talking to Dave, and you and Mike came over. And the two of them left to talk about something for a moment, that time when I was asking you for advice, that whole thing that they were talking about, it was someone else who was going to sleep with them wasn't it?" Rei spoke up.  
  
Jeff couldn't bare the sad look in here eyes, and looked away as he nodded. "I'm sorry about all of this. No one deserved to go through what you did."  
  
"Thank you for telling me." She said, and her soft spoken words made him feel like he was able to look up at her again, without feeling ashamed. "You know, you kinda restored my faith in men slightly. Now I realize that not every guy is like Dave, only most of them."  
  
When Rei said this, Jeff slowly gazed over at Jade who had an 'I told you so' look on his face. 'I guess having people who really love her does mean a lot to her.' He realized. "Hey Jade, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked.  
  
"Um sure." Jade followed Jeff a few feet away from where Rei was standing so that she was unable to hear the conversation between the two.  
  
"I guess you were right huh?" Jeff asked.  
  
He shrugged. "Whatever. I just want to say though, that I am really glad you came out here. I know it means a lot to Rei, even more then she's letting on."  
  
"I'm just sorry that it took me so long to realize what a wonderful person she is." Jeff said. "And if it wasn't so obvious who she's interested in, I would be tempted to ask her out." He added,  
  
Jade felt his heart fall. 'She's already fallen for someone else?' He asked himself incredulously. 'But it's okay because you've got Minako, remember, you're over her.' He reminded himself.  
  
"You've got the girl of a lifetime waiting for you. Make sure you don't let her go." Jeff winked at Jade before heading back into the ballroom.  
  
A very confused Jade wandered back over to the bench where Rei was still sitting, her tears having long ago dried up. 'What did he mean by that?' He wondered.  
  
"So what were you and Jeff talking about?" Rei asked once he had sat down next to her again.  
  
"Oh...just guy stuff." He lied, still puzzled over Jeff's words. 'Did he mean Minako?'  
  
The two sat there in silence for a few minutes, Jade trying to decipher the meaning of the message, and Rei just content to sit there in silence. After a few minutes, Jade gave up and turned to Rei. "Are you ready to go back inside yet?" He asked.  
  
"No actually, I'd rather stay out here a few minutes. I'm not really up to facing everyone." After a moment she realized that Jade was still there.. She lifted her head from the wall she had been leaning it against and looked over at him. "You can go back in you know? You don't have to stay out here with me. I'm sure I already ruined your evening by making you follow me out here."  
  
"It's ok, I'd rather to stay here with you. And you did not ruin my evening."  
  
"Well what about your date?" She asked.  
  
He peered inside the ballroom and smiled when he noticed Minako and Kunzite dancing. "I think my date found someone else." He said pointing the two out to her.  
  
"Looks like we both got ditched, huh?" She asked smiling.  
  
"Yeah I guess it's just me and you again." He said. Jade stood up and offered her his hand. "Would you like to dance?" He asked.  
  
She smiled as she accepted. "Yeah, why not?"  
  
The two danced on the balcony for a few minutes until a slow song. Unsure of what to do, Jade stopped moving. It turned out it, he didn't have to figure out what to do. Rei slid her arms around his neck as his arms subconsciously wound their way around her waist. Before he could realize what he was doing, he gently tugged her closer, and she laid her head on his chest. 'WHAT AM I DOING!?' His mind screamed at him. 'What happened to me not loving her anymore?' He asked himself silently, even though deep down, he knew he would never stop loving her. 'Look, Rei doesn't seem to mind, so stop worrying about why you are doing this and just enjoy it!' He told himself. The two danced around the balcony, each in their own world, eyes closed, just enjoying the presence of the other one as the soft strains of music drifted out to them.  
  
Just think of this and me  
  
as just a few of many things  
  
to lie around  
  
to clutter up your shelves  
  
And I wish you weren't worth the wait  
  
because there's some thing's  
  
I'd like to say to you...  
  
I don't think that  
  
you know what  
  
you've been missing  
  
Cuz I don't think that  
  
you know what  
  
you've been missing  
  
I dare you to forget  
  
those marks you left  
  
across my neck  
  
from those nights when we were both  
  
found at our best  
  
I could make this obvious,  
  
and you, you could deny me  
  
all in one breath  
  
you could shrug me off  
  
your shoulders...  
  
I don't think that  
  
you know what  
  
you've been missing  
  
Cuz I don't think that  
  
you know what  
  
you've been missing  
  
I don't think that you know  
  
I said I don't think you know  
  
I said I don't think you know what your missing  
  
Hey, lush, have fun  
  
It's the weekend  
  
Hey, lush, have fun  
  
Hey, lush, have fun  
  
It's the weekend  
  
Hey, lush, have fun  
  
I don't think that  
  
you know what  
  
you've been missing  
  
I don't think that  
  
you know what  
  
you've been missing  
  
Just forget me  
  
it's that simple  
  
Just forget me  
  
it's that simple  
  
* * *  
  
"I'll be right back." Kunzite promised as he walked away to get Minako a drink.  
  
As she was waiting for him she noticed Makoto standing by herself, obviously waiting for Nephlite, and walked over to say hello. "Hey Makoto, waiting for Nephlite?" She asked.  
  
It took a moment for the question to register, and Makoto finally turned her gaze away from the balcony where it had previously been focused. "What?" She asked.  
  
Minako rolled her eyes. "I asked if you were waiting for Nephlite." She said, repeating her question.  
  
"Oh yeah, he went to get me a drink. And who are you waiting for?" Makoto asked.  
  
Minako smiled at her. "Kunzite, for the same reason."  
  
"Kunzite?" She asked raising an eyebrow at her.  
  
"Yes Kunzite. I kinda gave up on Jeadite and decided that Kunzite is cuter anyway. By the way, what were you staring at a few minutes ago?"  
  
"You mean who." Makoto corrected her as she pointed out the pair dancing on the balcony. "I guess they made up huh?" She asked.  
  
"I guess so. I was with Jade before, and something most have happened because he ran out after her. Her and Dave must have broken up or something because I don't see him anywhere either." Minako observed, her eyes never leaving the pair.  
  
"So is Rei like the only person in this kingdom that doesn't know Jade is in love with her?" Makoto asked, carefully keeping her eyes away from Minako's, pretending to dust something off her dress.  
  
Minako stared at her, speechless. "But how did you...I never told you..."  
  
She gave in and looked over at Minako, smiling she said, "You didn't have to tell me. It's obvious! Especially right now, I mean, look at them." She pointed out. "Besides, it's not like you left all that many details out of the story you told me." She added.  
  
"Yeah but still..." Minako let her voice trail off as their dates arrived with their drinks.  
  
"Hello again ladies." Nephlite said.  
  
Minako bowed her head to him. "Good evening Nephlite." She turned back to Kunzite and smiled. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about."  
  
"Bye." Kunzite called over his shoulder as Minako dragged him off.  
  
"I've been meaning to ask you--" Minako was interrupted by a loud crash in the middle of the ballroom.  
  
* * *  
  
Victoria stood near the stairs sipping her wine, as she gazed out at the graceful couple dancing on the balcony.  
  
Serenity came walking over a moment later. "There you are!" She cried. "I've been looking for you everywhere."  
  
"Maybe you were right." Victoria mused, ignoring Serenity's comment.  
  
"What?" She asked, a look of confusion on her face.  
  
Victoria held her glass out in the general direction of the balcony on which Rei and Jade were dancing. "About Jade and Rei."  
  
Serenity looked out to see what Victoria was talking about, and she smiled when she noticed the couple dancing. "Told ya so."  
  
Victoria shook her head. "Look, Rennie, I have to talk to you later."  
  
"Why can't you just talk to me right now?" Serenity asked puzzled.  
  
"Because now is not the time. Besides I need to tell Rei and Serin also."  
  
Serenity was about to respond when a crash in the middle of the ballroom caught everyone's attention.  
  
* * *  
  
The song slowly drifted into another, and although it was faster paced, Rei and Jade continued to dance slowly, and contentedly, in each other's arms.  
  
Jade sighed blissfully. 'I can't remember the last time that I was so peaceful.' He thought. "Hey Rei," He said suddenly.  
  
She lifted her head from his chest, and brushing her bangs out of her eyes she looked at him. "Yes?"  
  
His heart nearly melted at the look of her eyes, her soft silky hair, her creamy skin. He shook his head. 'Get with it Jade.' He told himself. "I'm really sorry that Dave broke up with you and everything, but I have to say that in a way, I'm kinda glad. I mean, if he hadn't, we wouldn't have made up right?" He asked smiling at her. The dazzling smile that she returned made up for the past few weeks that she had been mad at him.  
  
'And I wouldn't have realized that I have feelings for Jed.' Rei thought to herself. Her eyes widened at what she had just though. For the first time since Jed had arrived on the moon, Rei had been having these feelings, but was only now for the first time allowing herself to realize them. "Jed," She started, then hesitated, unsure of how to tell him what she was feeling.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"There's something--"  
  
A large crash that sounded like it had come from the ballroom cut her off. "Serin!" She cried, as at the same time, Jade yelled out, "Endymion!" The two raced inside to see what had happened.  
  
* * *  
  
The ball had come to a complete stop. Everyone stood there silently, staring at the two figures that had just entered.  
  
"My my, we should feel honored Zoiste. They're all so happy to see us they don't know what to say!" Beryl laughed.  
  
"What do you want Beryl?" Serenity asked flatly.  
  
At the sight of her love, Ami felt tears come to her eyes as she reached a hand out to him. "Zoisite..." She whispered softly.  
  
Minako grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "No Ames. You can't, he's not the same Zoisite." She said gently.  
  
"We gotta protect the princess guys." Makoto said.  
  
Ami nodded. They were right, now was not the time to get emotional over Zoisite.  
  
"Well actually I was slightly upset that I wasn't invited to the princess's birthday. I mean, am I no longer a part of the kingdom?" She asked innocently.  
  
"You stopped being a member of this kingdom when you kidnapped Zoisite from us." Rei dared to say, as the scouts took their place in front of the Princess.  
  
Beryl glared at the girl. "It seems we have a smart one in the group huh?" She reached her hand out to strike her.  
  
Jade thought his heart would stop beating.  
  
"Don't touch her."  
  
Beryl paused for a moment to see who had spoken. "Who defies me?" She called out. "Show yourself."  
  
Queen Victoria walked out of the crowd of people. "Don't touch her." She warned again.  
  
"Ah Victoria. It seems we meet again." Beryl said smiling at her.  
  
"Yes, unfortunately. And my warning from before still holds, if you ever touch a member of my family again, you won't live to see your results." She said calmly.  
  
Beryl smiled at the remembrance. "Oh yes, I remember that day quite clearly."  
  
"I still remain loyal to that threat and I will not back down if you so much as lay a finger on my daughter." She said, her voice steady and firm.  
  
"Mom, what are you talking about?" Rei asked softly.  
  
"It's not important Rei." She responded firmly.  
  
An evil smile of amusement came across Beryl's face. "So you haven't told her?" She asked.  
  
Victoria glared at her. "Don't."  
  
She smiled sweetly and turned to Rei. "Your father, King William of Mars..."  
  
"Beryl don't." Victoria pleaded.  
  
"...died when you were four years old is that correct?" She asked, ignoring Victoria's plea. "That's right. How did you know that?" Rei asked staring at her in disbelief.  
  
"And how were you told that he died?" She continued.  
  
Rei looked over at her mother, then looked back at Beryl and said, "What do you mean 'how was I told that he died'? I wasn't 'told' anything. He died breaking up a group of angry protesters." She stammered out.  
  
Beryl shook her head laughing. "How pathetic!" She spat.  
  
Rei looked over at her mother frightfully. "Mom, what's going on? Please tell me!"  
  
"Rei sweetie, your dad didn't die from breaking up a group of protesters." She admitted.  
  
Serenity turned to stare at her sister. "Victoria what are you talking about?" She asked.  
  
"I killed him."  
  
All eyes turned towards the monster that had spoken the three simple words. "I still remember it too. I can tell you exactly how I killed the asshole if you'd like to know." Beryl said simply.  
  
Rei's eyes filled with tears at the words. "You bitch..." She said lowly.  
  
Beryl smiled, obviously pleased at the reaction. "I'll take that as a yes. It was quite simple actually. He was out walking around the palace, with," She turned to Victoria and pretended to be surprised. "Well now that I think of it, it was you wasn't Victoria?"  
  
She muttered something that no one was able to hear.  
  
"What was that dear? I'm no sure everyone heard you." Beryl said smiling evilly.  
  
"I said yes! It was me!" Victoria shouted.  
  
"That's what I thought." Beryl said smiling satisfactly. "Anyway, King William was out walking in the garden with his beloved wife, God knows where they left the poor child, and he was so happy. God it was disgusting." She paused for a moment then started laughing. "And the best part is..."  
  
"Please stop." Rei moaned closing her eyes almost as if she was wishing that would make it all go away.  
  
"...that the fool didn't even see it coming!" She laughed. "I walked up behind him, put my hand on his shoulder, and the pain began."  
  
Zoisite leaned over and whispered something in her ear.  
  
"Yes I should describe it shouldn't I?" She mused.  
  
"Stop!" Rei cried.  
  
"It was probably the most excruciating pain that he had ever experienced. It makes someone feel as if every part of their body is slowly burning..." She turned to Rei. "I wonder if that is what youma feel like when you burn them with your fire Princess Rei..." She wondered out loud.  
  
Rei put her hands to her head, shaking it furiously before dropping down to her knees. "Please stop! Please stop! Please stop!" She moaned over and over again.  
  
Jade felt his hatred towards Beryl grow by the second. 'Oh God Rei, I wish I could take away your pain. If I could, I would do it in a second, please God help her.' He thought.  
  
"And he just crumpled to his knees, and slowly died, screaming in agony the entire time." Beryl said smiling.  
  
Victoria turned away as the tears spilled over.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Beryl stopped smiling for a moment to look out into the crowd. She saw Princess Serenity with a question look on her face. "What was that?" She asked sharply.  
  
"I asked why." She repeated. "Why did you have to kill him? He couldn't possibly have done anything to you."  
  
"You couldn't be more wrong princess." She responded. "I knew that Princess Rei was one of your chosen protectors. And I know that even with the crystal, if you were missing Rei, you would never be able to defeat me."  
  
"What did that have to do with killing her father?" Minako asked, the others finally regaining their voices.  
  
"Well the way I figured was that if King William was dead, Queen Victoria would be to upset to give up Rei."  
  
"What do you mean give her up?" Makoto inquired.  
  
"Why sending her to the moon of course. I figured that if her husband was gone, Victoria would not give up the only family she had left. Of course, I never thought they were sisters," Beryl said glaring at Serenity and Victoria. "But my plan worked, for a while anyway. Victoria did keep Rei away until she was 12."  
  
'Oh God, no one was supposed to know about that!' Serin though groaning inwardly.  
  
As the others heard this, everything about Rei slowly started to make sense. Why she was so closed up about her family, why she hadn't talked to her mom in so long, and why she had never come before she was 12.  
  
"So I decided that killing King William was the best way to go about doing things." Beryl said, glancing over at Victoria to see how she was dealing with hearing the entire story.  
  
Fresh tears filled her eyes and spilled over. "Fuck you." Victoria said simply before turning and running out of the room.  
  
Serenity glance in the direction she had run in, then turned back to Beryl. "You've made you point Beryl. Now why did you really come?" She asked impatiently.  
  
She took a step forward. "To wish the princes a happy birthday of course."  
  
Within seconds Endymion had moved in front of Serin, who at that point, had knelt down beside Rei to attempt to comfort her. "You're going to have to kill me first." He said determinedly.  
  
A moment later and Kunzite, Jade, and Nephlite were standing in front of the Prince. "You'll have to kill us to get to the Prince." Kunzite said defiantly.  
  
"And that isn't likely." Nephlite added.  
  
Jade, however, remained silent.  
  
"Well then I'll just have to ruin the surprise and tell the princess her present now." She said sighing.  
  
"What present?" Ami asked narrowing her eyes suspiciously.  
  
"Well I guess you wouldn't exactly call it a present...more like a premonition." She said thoughtfully. "Yes that's it, a premonition." She looked over at the Princessess and Serin who was almost afraid to look at the eyes of pure hatred. "I predict, that within two weeks time, four of your friends will have betrayed you and joined he Negaverse."  
  
Jade felt his stomach drop at her words. So that's what her plan was! She already had Zoisite, he was next, and then she was going to go after Kunzite and Nephlite! 'There is no way that the scouts will be able to defeat us once we are evil!' He realized, as he thought back to their first day at sparring. 'True their elements are more powerful, but they will have to be fighting against their loves.'  
  
Beryl looked towards Jade and winked, holding up two fingers before her and Zoisite disappeared.  
  
'God help them.' Were his last thoughts before mayhem broke out.  
  
* * *  
  
Rei, Queen Serenity, and Serin ran through the palace until they reached Queen Victoria's room. Once there, they burst in, to find her curled up in a ball, in the corning of the room, sobbing uncontrollably. Rei immediately ran over to her mother and hugged her tightly. "Are you okay?" She asked.  
  
Victoria pulled away and nodded, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "Rei, I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to find out that way." She apologized. "But what are you guys doing here? What about the ball?" She asked.  
  
"I got Jade and the others to explain something to everyone and hopefully calm them down." Rei explained.  
  
She turned to Serin. "But what about you, aren't you the guest of honor?"  
  
Serin smiled. "I've been guest of honor and way to many balls. They can miss me just this once."  
  
Rei leaned back on her knees. "Mom, why didn't you ever tell me?" She asked.  
  
"You know, before you father died, I was the happiest person in the world. I had the perfect life, the perfect family, and I loved everything." Victoria commented, tracing her finger along the swirling pattern of the wallpaper, making sure to keep her eyes of her three listeners.  
  
"Yeah I know. I don't remember much about it, but Aunt Serenity was telling me some thing about it once. But what does this have to do with anything?" She asked in confusion.  
  
"After your dad died though, everything changed. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't go back to the way I was." Victoria paused for a moment to turn to Rei. "And the reason was hatred. Before, I had never really hated anyone. I mean sure there were people I didn't like, but I figured that if they stayed out of my way, I would stay out of theirs."  
  
"Except for Beryl."  
  
Victoria looked up and noticed Queen Serenity standing there with a grim look on her face. She nodded as she turned back to Rei to further explain. "After that though, I hated Beryl with the greatest passion. I wanted nothing more than her death, and still do."  
  
Rei almost gasped in shock at the hatred that her mother's voice held, but then realized that after discovering the truth, she felt the same way.  
  
Victoria noticed the look on her face. "You're already starting to feel the same way aren't you?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"And that's why I never told you the truth. I didn't want my four year old daughter to have to feel such hatred towards someone, that they actually wished them dead. I didn't want you to have to grow up feeling like that. I'm sorry." She explained gently, softly stroking the side of Rei's face.  
  
"I'm somewhat glad that you never told me the truth." Rei confessed. "Because the feelings that I have towards that woman now, are not something that I would have wanted to live with through my entire childhood."  
  
Victoria smiled gently at her. "So at least I did one thing right in raising you."  
  
"Don't say that!" Rei exclaimed. "You were as good of a mother as you knew how to be, and that was a wonderful one."  
  
"Thank you Rei, that means a lot to me to know that."  
  
"Vicki, I have to ask you something. I understand why you didn't tell Rei what really happened, but why didn't you tell me at least?" Serenity asked. "I can't believe that you went through that whole thing by yourself!"  
  
She shrugged. "I guess it was because I really didn't even know that much about Beryl then, and I knew that if I told you, you would do everything possible to get revenge, and as much as I wanted her dead, I also wanted my life to go back to normal."  
  
Serenity nodded. "I think I can understand that."  
  
Victoria smiled. "Good, Rei could you help me up please?" She asked.  
  
Rei gave her mother her hand, and halfway up, Victoria collapsed against the wall, almost falling, and very short of breath.  
  
"Mom? Are you okay?" Rei asked in alarm. It was then that she noticed, for the first time, the color of her mother's nails. "Why are your nails so blue?" She asked in surprise.  
  
"Now that you mention it, you nails are a very unhealthy blue." Serenity commented, as she peered over at them.  
  
"Your lips are slightly blue also." Serin, who had been quiet during most of the conversation, spoke up.  
  
Victoria leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment. 'Guess now would be the best time to tell them.' She thought.  
  
"Victoria, what's going on?" Serenity asked suspiciously.  
  
She opened here eyes again. "I have something to tell you three. Something that is very serious."  
  
"What's wrong, are you okay?" Rei asked.  
  
She shook her head as she sighed. "Sweetie, I would love to tell you that I am fine, but it's not true. The past few months, I've been extremely tired, have been having dizzy spells, and shortness of breath, and as you can tell, my nails and lips are slightly bluish. So I've been seeing a bunch of doctors, and after undergoing hundreds of tests, they finally discovered that I'm suffering from viral cardiomyopathy."  
  
"So whatever that is, can't they just give you some kind of treatment and it will go away?" Serin asked.  
  
"Yeah how bad could it be?" Rei asked.  
  
Victoria didn't respond.  
  
"It's fatal isn't it?" Serenity asked quietly.  
  
Victoria looked away and nodded.  
  
Tears sprung to Rei's eyes. "You're dying?" She cried out.  
  
Victoria wiped away her own tears as she nodded again. "What happened was, a virus somehow attacked my heart, and it's eating it away inside. And it's slowly killing me." She explained.  
  
"Isn't there any kind of treatment?" Serin asked.  
  
"My only chance is a heart transplant, and I'm on the list but," She shrugged. "It's not very likely."  
  
"How much longer do you have?" Serenity asked.  
  
"Two months."  
  
Rei threw her arms around her mother as she felt the tears stream down her cheeks. "You can't leave me!"  
  
Her mother forced back her own tears as she tightly hugged Rei. "I don't want to Rei. I can tell you that much. But it seems that I'm not getting much of a say in this."  
  
Rei pulled away, attempting to dry her eyes. " I...I need to go somewhere and think about this. I can't talk about it right now. I hope you don't mind."  
  
Victoria shook her head as Rei and Serin left the room, leaving the two sister alone in the room. The stood face to face, just staring at each other for a full minute before tightly hugging, and finally letting the tears flow freely.  
  
"Oh God, Vicki, I'm gonna miss you so much." Serenity murmured.  
  
"Promise to take care of Rei for me?" Victoria asked.  
  
Serenity released the hug. "Of course I will! You know that I will always take care of her."  
  
Victoria smiled weakly. "I just wish you didn't have to."  
  
She nodded. "I know, I know. But we still have plenty of time to talk about this, and right now you need your rest."Do you need any help with anything before I leave?" She asked.  
  
Victoria shook her head and closed the door as Serenity left the room bidding her good night. Once the door was shut, she slowly slid down against it until she was curled up on the floor once again. For the second time that night, Victoria burst into tears.  
  
* * *  
  
Jade nervously looked down at his watch, then back up at the path. Rei had asked him to meet her here at 11:00 and it was now 11:10. He was incredibly nervous about the whole meeting. He knew she wanted to talk about what had happened at the ball, seeing as the two had not talked for the past two days. Now if she would only show up!  
  
A moment later a breathless Rei came running down the path to the spot they had agreed to meet at. "Sorry...I'm...late..." She huffed.  
  
"Let me guess, you overslept?"  
  
"Shut up." She said smiling at him as she sat down on the bench. As he took a seat next to her, the closeness made her blush, and reminded her of why she had asked him to meet her in the first place. "Um Jed, about the reason that I asked you here today.." She started. Her breath caught in her throat making her stop for a moment, as he slowly moved closer to her. 'What is it about him that makes me feel like a 12 year old again?' She wondered. 'Because he is adorably irresistible but you are too afraid to do anything about it.' Her mind answered her.  
  
Not anymore.  
  
"Jed, there's something that I want to tell you, and I've been wanting to tell you for a while now." She said swallowing her fears.  
  
He reached a hand out and gently caressed her cheek while staring deeply into her eyes. "Can't it wait just a few minutes?" He asked, leaning his head closer to hers.  
  
She stared back into his eyes just as deeply and allowed her emotions to take over. "I think so." She leaned her head towards his, almost allowing their lips to brush softly against each other. Almost allowing them to show their true feelings for each other that they had been hiding. Almost allowing the two to become lovers in every sense of the word.  
  
Almost.  
  
"Aww how sweet."  
  
Rei and Jed quickly broke apart to see who had interrupted them.  
  
"Beryl." Rei hissed lowly.  
  
Jade inwardly groaned as he realized that it had been two days since Beryl had come to talk to him. 'God not know! Please, any time but now, just not now!' He pleaded.  
  
"Did you miss me?" Beryl asked laughingly.  
  
'I don't want to do this!'  
  
Rei stood up, her pen already in her hand, a look of pure hatred on her face. "You're the bitch that took Zoisite." She said.  
  
"I didn't 'take' him, he came on his own will." She explained calmly. "And I for one, and very offended that you would even think that."  
  
Rei shook her head. "That's a lie and we all know it." She raised her pen in the air, and shouted, "MARS STAR POW--"  
  
"Rei, wait." Jade said putting a hand out to stop her.  
  
She lowered her hand and shot him a confused look. "Jed, what are you doing?" She whispered to him. "We can't just stand here and not do anything!"  
  
"So have you made your decision?" Beryl asked with a smile on her face.  
  
He glared at her. "You knew what it would be all along." He said bitterly.  
  
She laughed. "Yes I guess I did, it's you I assume?"  
  
"Of course it is. You know I could never do that to her. Even though, technically I am doing it to her either way. Either way, she gets hurt and feels like she has been betrayed."  
  
Rei looked back and forth between the two. "Jed, what's going on? Please tell me?" she asked frightfully.  
  
"Oh so we haven't even told her yet?" Beryl asked raising an eyebrow at Jade. She then turned to Rei. "Your little friend here has gotten smart and decided to join the Negaverse."  
  
She turned to him with a look of horror in her eyes. "Jed, please say that isn't true!" She pleaded.  
  
Jade took a deep breath. He thought back to the promise he had made to Rei's mom six years ago. '...I have always sworn to myself that I would protect Rei from harm, or die trying...' He knew that he had to do this. 'I'm sorry Rei, I'm just keeping a promise.' He thought and before crossing over to stand next to Queen Beryl, he silently added, 'I love you.' He sighed in defeat and sadness. "I'm sorry Rei, but she's right. I'm joining the Negaverse." He voiced.  
  
Rei's pen fell to the ground unnoticed. "Jed no!" She cried. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
"Look Rei, it's just something that I have to do." He said, his face stone and void of all emotion.  
  
"Want me to tell her the reason?" Beryl whispered evily to him.  
  
"You do and the whole deal is off." He whispered fiercely, refusing her the satisfaction of his glare.  
  
"I don't understand." Rei said softly.  
  
"You picked a smart one." Beryl whispered.  
  
As angry as the comment made him, Jade forced himself not to respond. Anything he said could endanger her. "Rei please, just listen to me, this is something that I have to do. I can't explain it." He said, trying to make her understand.  
  
"Jed no please don't do this!" She exclaimed. "I don't care why you have to do it!"  
  
Jade turned away, unable to look at the tears that had started to gather in her eyes.  
  
"Jed please! I can't do this without you." Her voice dropped to a whisper at the last part.  
  
"Time to go." Beryl announced and the two started to disappear.  
  
Jade dared to take one last look at his love and regretted it almost immediately. The look in her eyes...it was all he could to not start crying himself and confess his love to her.  
  
"JED!" Rei screamed as the pair finally disappeared. "Ai Shituru." She whispered softly before dropping to her knees in hysterical sobs.  
  
* * *  
  
Serin and Endy were curled up on a swing on the lake shore, happily enjoying each other's company, when Serin felt pain sear through her mind. 'Rei.' She immediately gasped and jumped up.  
  
"What's wrong?" Endy asked frantically. "Are you okay?"  
  
She shook her head. "It's not me, it's Rei. I gotta find her." Forgetting about her shoes, which were lying in the sand, Serin ran off in search of Rei.  
  
"I'm right behind you." Endy said as he followed behind her.  
  
Serin quickly raced through the gardens in her search of Rei. 'This is strange, usually I'm the one crying.' She thought with a smile. After a few minutes of searching she found Rei curled up on the ground, sobbing hysterically. She ran over and hugged her tightly, Endy standing behind her. "Sweetie what's wrong?" Serin asked.  
  
Rei pulled away. "He's gone. She came and was all...and then he was all...and he's gone!" She attempted to explain, her sobs blocking out much of the story.  
  
"Rei, Rei you have to calm down. I can't understand you." Serin told her gently.  
  
"Beryl came...and Jed...he apologized...and then he was gone." She hiccuped.  
  
Serin looked over at Endymion in confusion.  
  
"Rei, are you saying that Beryl took Jade?" Endymion asked her.  
  
She shook her head. "Beryl showed up, and I started to transform, but Jed told me not to. And then they were talking for a minute, something about a decision, and then," She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "And then...he apologized...and he went with her. Jed's gone."  
  
"Jade's...gone?" Serin asked slowly, making sure that she had heard right.  
  
Jade's gone. Jade's gone. Jade's gone. The two words exploded in Endymion's brain over and over. It couldn't be. Jade couldn't be gone. Not Jade, his best friend, his guardian, his brother, his...no not Jade! It was too much for Endymion to handle. First Zoisite, then Jade. JADE'S GONE! The words kept sounding in his head until he snapped. He ran over to Rei and grabbed her shoulders as he violently started shaking her. "HOW COULD YOU?!" He shouted at her. "How could you let her take him? How could you...Jade..."  
  
"STOP YELLING AT ME!" Rei screamed. "I know it was my fault! I know that everyone blames me. And I know that they have every right too! I was here. I could have stopped them. But I didn't, and now Jed is gone because of it. Just stop yelling at me!" She collapsed into sobs again, this time in Serin's arms.  
  
Serin glared at Endymion who backed away, shaking in horror at what he had just done. "God damn it!" She said still glaring at him. "You don't think that she's going to put enough blame on herself, you needed to add to it?" She asked, lowering her voice so that Rei wasn't able to hear.  
  
"Serin, I'm sorry." He tried, reaching his hand out to her shoulder. The deadly look that she shot him made him retract his hand.  
  
"Just leave for now. I'll talk to you later." She turned back to comforting Rei while Endymion walked away whispering his apologies.  
  
"It's all my fault Serin." Rei cried out.  
  
"No no it's not." She murmured.  
  
"But it is. I was here, I should have done more to stop him..." Rei let her voice trail off, not wanting to say why she was really so upset.  
  
"What is it?" Serin asked gently.  
  
"I didn't get to tell him...." She said.  
  
"Rei, tell him what? He knows how much he meant to you." Serin said in attempt to console her.  
  
"No he didn't!" She exclaimed.  
  
Serin looked at her carefully. "What are you saying?"  
  
Rei looked down at the ground for a moment, while gathering her courage, then looked back up and stared Serin directly in the eye. "I never go the chance to tell him...that I've fallen in love with him." She confessed.  
  
End of Chapter 11 Quick explination,when Endymion just said, Not Jade, his best friend, his guardian, his brother, his...no not Jade! I did not mean that they are literally brothers, just that the two had gone so cl;ose, to Endymion, it felt like they were brothers. End of Chapter 11 First, some of you may be confused about the order of this, especially the part where Jeff walks out onto the balcony, but then the next part is him talking to Dave. The way I tried to do it was have like three things going on at once. So during the time that Rei and Jade were talking, Dave was also talking to Jeff and Mike. Hope that clears things up. If not e-mail me, sunnysidemeggs@yahoo.com, and I will see if I can explain a bit more.  
  
Yeah so I'm sure that people are annoyed that I didn't allow them to confess their love for one another and what not.well don't worry, it just gets sadder from here. ^_^ Sorry! I'm as much of a sucker for a happy ending as the next person, but in order for the rest of the stories and everything to fit together, this was just what needed to happen between Rei and Jeadite. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that it was worth the wait! The next one will be up soon. Two more to go! Review please! 


	13. Chapter 12

This would have been out sooner, but I got a burst of creativity on Ever Forever Ever so I figured I should work on that while it lasted. It will be done one day, I promise.  
  
Anyway, there are a few minor changes in this chapter, nothing big, more for my own satisfaction than anything else. I also changed the song on Chapter 11, and the choice of song that Rei and Jed dance to will have much more significance when I get around to rewriting Courage Under Fire.  
  
Thank you sooo much to Firenze, Missy, Moi, and Terenity Rose for reviewing on the last chapter. Sorry it took so long to get these thank yous out! Please continue to review, and I should probably warn you, although I am a complete sucker for a happy ending. this story unfortunately doesn't have one. Sorry! ( One more chapter and an epilogue and it will be done. Thanks for reading, review please!  
  
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As the Tears Fell~Chapter Twelve  
  
By MCRK  
  
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"So how's Rei dealing with Jade being gone?" Makoto asked, as she looked up from her plate.  
  
"Pretty bad. She's not accepting it too well." Serin commented. The scouts and guardians had all gathered in the large dining room for dinner. The only ones missing were Zoisite, Jeadite, and Rei. At that moment the door opened and Rei walked in. Everyone tried not to stare in shock at her appearance. Serin seemed the most shocked. For as long as she had known Rei, she had never, never seen her hair not flowing down her back, looking silky, soft, and perfect. Until now. It was up in a long ponytail, and looked like it hadn't been washed in days, which was quite possible. Her eyes had huge bags under them and she looked like she could barely stay awake. Her clothes were also a mess. She was wearing a pair of torn beat up jeans, with an old worn out sweatshirt. Totally un Rei. She walked to the table and slid into the empty seat next to Serin. "Hey everyone." She said quietly.  
  
"Hi. How are you feeling?" Serin asked carefully.  
  
The others sat quietly, awaiting her answer.  
  
"I'm better." She said after a moment. "It's getting a little better."  
  
Minako smiled at her. "You'll be fine in no time, don't worry about it."  
  
She replied with a weak smile of her own, before turning to Ami and asking a question. "Does it ever go away?" She asked quietly.  
  
Ami looked over at her friend's tear filled eyes, and as much as she wanted to, she knew that she couldn't lie. "Do you mean the feeling of hatred towards Beryl that you feel because she caused all this, or," she paused for a minute to wipe away her own tears, "Or the feeling of knowing that the one person you love more than anyone, is in the hands of the most powerful, evillest person alive right now, and there is nothing you can do about it?" She shook her head. "Because as far as I know, neither feeling goes away."  
  
Rei's eyes filled with fresh tears as she heard Ami talk about 'the one person you love more than anyone.' She thought back to the time in the garden, when they almost kissed, when she was almost able to tell him the truth about how she felt. And the time at the ball, where Dave had dumped her, and even though she had been mad at him, he was there to comfort her anyway. And how they had danced, and she had decided she was going to tell him how she felt, but Beryl ruined that also. Those nights felt like they had happened years ago, it felt like it had been years since she had seen him already. She started to sob as she remembered that she had never even told Jed how she had felt about him. And now he was gone. "I never told him." She said through her tears.  
  
Serin exchanged a worried glance with the others as she put her arm around Rei's shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Rei, shhh, it's okay." She attempted.  
  
She wiped her eyes. 'I'm sorry, you all probably think I'm psycho or something but I miss him so much." She explained.  
  
"It's okay, we miss him too Rei." Endymion said gently.  
  
Rei was unable to look at him, and looked down at her hands instead. "Yeah thanks."  
  
Makoto leaned her head on Nephlite's shoulder and frowned in worry. Beryl had already gotten two of them. Who was next?  
  
Nephlite seemed to read her thoughts and squeezed her hand underneath the table reassuringly as he smiled down at her. "Don't worry my love. My only plans are to win this war, get our friends back, and then marry you." He whispered softly to her.  
  
She smiled back at him. "Good." She said.  
  
"I really am sorry about all this." Rei said.  
  
"Rei, sweetie, we know you're upset, you don't have to apologize." Serin told her gently.  
  
She shook her head. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the fact that I know this entire thing is my fault and that everyone in this room blames me." She explained.  
  
"Rei are you kidding?" Makoto cried. "Of course we don't blame you. Where could you ever get such an idea."  
  
Serin glared at Endy who looked away uncomfortably.  
  
"Because it's true!" She exclaimed. "I could have done something to help, I didn't even transform!"  
  
"Rei, we all would have acted the same way if it were any one of us." Minako said gently.  
  
She shook her head. "But it wasn't you, it was me, and now Jed's gone and it's completely my fault."  
  
"Rei, please, just listen to me, no one in here blames you okay?" Serin asked softly.  
  
She nodded, pretending that she believed her. "If you say so."  
  
"No, not 'if I say so!'" Serin exclaimed. "No one here blames you and that's the truth okay?"  
  
She didn't asnwer.  
  
"Everyone knows about the training session tomorrow morning right?" Kunzite asked, trying to change the subject.  
  
The others all nodded. "You are so obsessed!" Minako said smiling at him.  
  
He smiled back at her as he put his arm around her shoulder. "I know."  
  
Rei blinked, making sure she was seeing correctly, before asking, "When did you two get together?" She asked Minako and Kunzite.  
  
"Ball." They said in unison.  
  
She shook her head. "Okay whatever. Look I'm not really that hungry, you guys don't mind much if I go back to my room do you?" She asked standing up.  
  
"Don't worry about it." Ami assure her.  
  
Serin stood up also. "Want me to come with you for a while?" She asked.  
  
Rei nodded. "Yeah sure." She said as the two left the room.  
  
Endymion stood up a moment later.  
  
"Where are you going?" Makoto asked.  
  
"I'll explain later." He said as he ran out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
"How is he coming along your majesty?" Zoisite asked as he looked over the cylinder containing Jeadite.  
  
"Not very well." She admitted. "He's won't forget his love for the sailor brat." She pressed the button on the side that activated the speech inside the cylinder. "Jeadite, who are you loyal to?" She asked.  
  
His face twisted in pain, eyes closed, as he moaned. "Rei."  
  
"Damn it." She cursed. "That little slut will have to pay."  
  
"I assure you my queen that the wait will be worth it. Jeadite has always been an excellent warrior." Zoisite promised.  
  
"Yes I am sure he is. I am not a patient person though, but once he is completely loyal to use we will be strong enough to attack Earth." Beryl said smiling sinisterly.  
  
"But what about the other two, Kunzite and Nephlite?" Zoisite inquired.  
  
She smiled. "Oh they're coming. Don't think I forgot about them. They're next. I'm just waiting for the right moment..."  
  
* * *  
  
Serin walked out of Rei's room and closed the door. After talking to her for the past hour, she had finally gotten her to fall asleep, sleep that she desperately needed.  
  
"Serin!"  
  
She turned around to see Endymion running up to her, and she turned around again, not wanting to face him.  
  
"Serin, please, just talk to me." He pleaded.  
  
She turned around and sighed. "Fine."  
  
He looked around the hallway. "Can we at least go somewhere else to talk?" He asked.  
  
"No. I am incredibly annoyed right now and you are lucky I am even talking to you so talk here or don't talk at all." Serin said firmly.  
  
"Okay, okay. What I really want to say is that I'm sorry. I feel horrible about what I did to Rei, but I was just so...so in shock at what she had just said that it was almost involuntary." He explained.  
  
She was silent.  
  
And I really am sorry, and I'll talk to Rei or whatever you want me to do, but please, don't be mad at me. I can't stand having you be mad at me." He begged.  
  
"Endy, it's not that simple. Rei is an incredibly complex person and she is very very self-conscious. She blames herself for everything, and when someone else blames her also..." She let her voice trail off.  
  
"I know, and I feel terrible. I know that Rei will put enough blame on herself without me adding to it, but Serin, you have to admit, it was partly her fault." Endy pointed out gently.  
  
She glared at him. "I most certainly will not admit that!" She exclaimed. "It was no more Rei's fault than it was ours for not being there."  
  
"Fine, it wasn't her fault at all." He said.  
  
She shook her head. "Don't just say that because that's what you think I want to hear. Do you blame her? And tell me the honest to God truth."  
  
He was quiet for a moment. "Truthfully, I do hold her partly responsible." He said quietly. "I mean how could I not? The enemy took my best friend. The enemy Serin! And she didn't even try to stop him. How could I not hold some fault to her?" He asked. "But I'm not going to hold a grudge against her for it, and I'm not going to say anything to her about it because she doesn't need that from anyone, especially me." He said quietly.  
  
Serin smiled softly at him. "That was what I was hoping you would say." She said softly. "And if you still want it, I'm offering forgiveness."  
  
"Are you kidding? Of course." He said smiling at her.  
  
"But please, at least try to apologize to Rei. I don't want to ask you to lie, so you don't have to tell her that you don't blame her if you really do, but please, just talk to her and apologize." Serin pleaded.  
  
"Anything." Endy said as he hugged her, taking in the sweet smell of her hair, and the smoothness of her skin. "I missed you."  
  
"I missed you too. I love you so much." Serin said hugging him back.  
  
"I love you too. So are you still my fiancée I hope?" He asked pulling away.  
  
She smiled at him. "Damn right. Once we win his war and get Jade and Zoi back we, are getting married."  
  
He smiled. "I can't wait."  
  
* * *  
  
Sailor Venus looked down at her watch and sighed impatiently. "Does anyone have any idea where Rei is?" She asked.  
  
"I'm sure she's coming." Mercury said anxiously looking for her.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure she is too, but she's twenty minutes late!" Venus exclaimed.  
  
Kunzite put a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to momentarily calm her down. "Let's just start with out her." He suggested, also slightly irritated at Rei's tardiness.  
  
"Just give her a few more minutes." Serin pleaded.  
  
"Serin, she's twenty minutes late! I mean I feel horrible for her and everything but how long are we supposed to wait?" Jupiter argued.  
  
"Please!" She pleaded again. "She's upset, give her a break. After--" She stopped in mid sentence realizing that Ami was right there.  
  
She smiled, and although it was reassuring, there was a hint of sadness in her smile. "It's okay Serin. I know that you were going to say that after Zoisite left, I was late all the time and I even missed a few meetings."  
  
"You guys, Serin's right. Just give her a few more minutes." Endymion broke in.  
  
A few moments later Rei came up over the hill to where the rest of the group was meeting. Ignoring the glares she received from Venus and Jupiter, she started to apologize. "I'm really sorry I'm so late. I wasn't paying attention to what time it was and I didn't realize how late it had gotten." She said quietly.  
  
Serin smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, we understand." She said sympathetically.  
  
"I really am sorry though. I never meant to--" Rei started.  
  
"Rei, why aren't you transformed?" Venus cut in.  
  
Rei gave her a cold glare. "As I was just about to say before someone interrupted me, I had been walking around outside, and I couldn't exactly transform in front of everyone ya know."  
  
Kunzite quietly reminded her that Rei was just upset and Venus refrained from lashing out at the girl.  
  
"MARS STAR POWER!" Where Rei had stood moments before now stood the fiery scouts of the planet Mars.  
  
"Okay everyone let's start." Venus called. "We'll just start with some target practice okay? Everyone knows what to do."  
  
"About damn time." Jupiter muttered as every one started target practice.  
  
Seeing as Serin and Endymion's attacks were not really, magic based, his being sword fighting, and hers being the silver crystal, they really didn't get much out of the practices. Instead they stood behind the others, just observing. As Serin's eyes roamed over each scout, they stopped on Mars. Although her attacks were normal, Serin could sense that something was bothering her, and she had a feeling it wasn't just Jade's absence. She would stop in-between each attack for a few minutes at a time, and Serin almost got the feeling she got whenever Rei was crying. It wasn't quiet as strong though, but Serin knew something was wrong. She nudged Endymion, who was standing next to her, and whispered, "Something's wrong with Rei."  
  
"What do you mean?" Endymion whispered back.  
  
"I can't explain it. But something's...off about her. I don't know what--"  
  
Serin was interrupted when in the middle of her attack, Rei dropped to the ground, clutching her head as she screamed out, "STOP! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"  
  
Serin raced over to her as the others stopped practicing to see what was wrong. "Rei...Rei, talk to me. What's wrong?" Serin asked gently once she reached her side.  
  
Rei wouldn't answer but kept shaking her head as she rocked back and forth on her knees. "No! Make it go away. Please make it go away." She sobbed.  
  
"Make what go away?" Serin asked gently. "Rei I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong." She looked up at the others crowding around her in concern. "Maybe you guys should just go back to practicing." She suggested.  
  
"Serin this affects all of us." Venus argued.  
  
Serin glared at her. "Practice. Now." She said as the others headed back to practicing.  
  
"I'm staying." Endymion said firmly.  
  
She nodded and turned back to Rei who was still on the ground. "Now Rei, please, what's wrong?" She asked again.  
  
Rei looked up and Serin could see the fear and horror in her eyes. "She's in my head." She whispered painfully.  
  
"Who?" Endymion pressed.  
  
She looked down at the ground as she softly answered. "Beryl."  
  
Serin and Endy exchanged worried glances. "What do you mean, she's in you head? Is she controlling you?" Serin asked.  
  
She shook her head looking back up at the two. "She's not literally in my head; just her voice. Saying it over, and over, and over, and over, and over..."  
  
Serin suddenly realized what was happening. "And that's why you can't use your fire right?" She asked, everything fitting together.  
  
Rei nodded. "I feel...like I'm burning him," She said quietly.  
  
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Endymion asked in confusion.  
  
Serin turned to him. "Do you remember, a few days ago, at the ball, when Beryl came?" She started.  
  
He nodded. "Yes..." He said unsure of where this was leading.  
  
"And she admitted...what she...did to Rei's father?" Serin continued.  
  
He nodded again.  
  
"Do you remember what she said after that?" She asked.  
  
He shook his head. "I wasn't paying that much attention." He said almost apologetically.  
  
"She told me how she had walked up to him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and started killing him." Rei spoke up softly. "She told me how it was most likely the most excruciating pain that he had ever felt in his entire life. And then she said," Her voice was cracking with emotions at this point and tears streamed down her cheeks. "She said that she wondered if that is what youma feel when I burn them with my fire."  
  
"And now every time you use your fire..." He started, everything beginning to make sense.  
  
"She feels like she's killing her father." Serin finished.  
  
"What do I do?" Rei asked, drying her eyes. "I can't fight like this! I'm completely useless to the team."  
  
"You are not useless." She said firmly. "And right now, the only thing you are going to do is go back to your room and sleep because you look like you desperately need it."  
  
"But--" She started to protest.  
  
"Rei, she's right, It's the only way you're going to get over this." Endy said, placing his hand on her shoulder in comfort.  
  
She flinched back, remembering his cruel words a few days before. "Thanks." She said sarcastically.  
  
"Rei..." Serin said, her voice with a warning tone in it.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Sorry." She said to Endymion.  
  
He didn't respond.  
  
"Really Rei though, just go back to your room and sleep. Endymion is right, the only way that you are going to get past all this is with time, and until you are comfortable using your powers again, you shouldn't torture yourself by being down here." Serin told her.  
  
She stood up. "You mean I shouldn't be down here making an idiot of myself by crying all the time right?" She asked smiling.  
  
Serin smiled back. "Complete idiot. Now go sleep!" She commanded.  
  
As soon as the others noticed Rei walking away they came running over. "Where's Rei going?" Venus asked immediately.  
  
"She went back to her room to get some sleep." Serin explained as her and Endymion stood up.  
  
"In the middle of a practice?" Jupiter questioned.  
  
"She couldn't practice right now anyway, and she really needed sleep, it looks like she hasn't gotten any in days. I wasn't about to make her stay here and practice." She said defensively.  
  
Venus sighed loudly, obviously annoyed.  
  
"Was she okay?" Mercury asked in concern.  
  
"Yeah what happened to her anyway?" Nephlite added.  
  
Serin sighed. "I don't know if you all remember what Beryl said to her at the ball, about her dad,"  
  
The others nodded.  
  
"But because of what she said, now every time Rei uses her fire, she feels as if though her father is burning all over again, except this time, she is doing it." She explained.  
  
"That's horrible." Jupiter commented quietly.  
  
She nodded. "And the only thing that's going to make it go away is time. She needs to be comfortable with using her powers, and having her here is just going to torture her even more."  
  
"Look Serin, I don't mean to sound unsympathetic or anything," Venus said impatiently. "But this problem is somewhat more serious than just letting her get over it herself, don't you think?"  
  
"Minako does have a point." Kunzite added.  
  
"I mean, I don't want to be all pessimistic and everything, but Beryl is going to attack, there is no question about that. And she already has Jade and Zoisite. Don't you think we're weak enough without losing Rei also?" Venus asked.  
  
"Venus, until you lose a parent and feel what Rei is feeling, I really don't think you have the authority to tell me what to do in this situation." Serin said firmly. "This is something that Rei has to work out on her own, and yes I know that we are weaker without Jade and Zoisite, and yes I realize that we will be even weaker having to fight against them, but forcing Rei to fight when she is in this condition is a complete mistake that could end up being fatal for her, or for us." Serin snapped.  
  
"Serin, I don't think she meant it like that." Nephlite said quietly.  
  
"Look, Rei needs to get over this in her own way and time and we will just have to work harder to overcome the weaknesses that we now suffer. Now let's all just leave it at that okay?" Endymion asked.  
  
The others all agreed. "I'm sorry Serin. I know you have your own reasons for what you do." Venus apologized.  
  
"And I apologize for snapping at you. You have opinions too." Serin said as she felt a drop of water land on her arm. Looking up at the sky she noticed the clouds that had gathered. "And now I think it's time to end this training session and head in before it starts thundering." She shivered. "I hate thunder.  
  
The others agreed and started on their way back to the palace. Endymion wrapped an arm around the shivering princess. "You really don't like thunder do you?" He asked.  
  
She shook her head. "Scares me more than anything."  
  
He smiled kissing the top of her head. "Don't worry, I'm here."  
  
She smiled up at him. "My Savior."  
  
* * *  
  
Rei slowly opened her eyes as she heard Serin, but wasn't able to see her anywhere. She blinked a few times and finally getting her eyes to focus, she sat up, and was able to see Serin who was sitting on the edge of her bed.  
  
"Took you long enough to wake up." She said smiling.  
  
"Sorry. I was more tired than I thought." Rei said yawning.  
  
"Yeah I noticed." Serin said looking down at her. "You forgot to detransform."  
  
Looking down, Rei blushed. She concentrated, and a moment later she was back to Princess Rei. "So what's up?" She asked.  
  
"I came to get you for dinner. I figured since you really didn't eat anything for breakfast, and you kinda slept through lunch, you'd be hungry by now." Serin commented as the two stood up.  
  
"I'm starving." Rei agreed, noticing for the first time that day how hungry she actually was. "So how did the training session go?" She asked as the two made their way down the hall, towards the dining hall.  
  
"Actually we ended it a few minutes after you left due to the weather." Serin said. "So you really didn't miss that much."  
  
"I bet Minako was kinda pissed I left early." Rei commented.  
  
"She was at first, but I explained to them what happened. You know no one blames you for being upset. They all know what you're going through." Serin commented softly, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
Rei shook her head. "No, they don't. Not even Ami. None of them know what it is like to not realize you love someone until it's too late to tell them. But thanks for trying anyway." She said as she walked into the dining hall.  
  
Serin sighed as she followed. 'Please God, we're doing all we can. Please get Jade back.' She thought as she followed Rei into the dining hall.  
  
"Hey, we were wondering where you guys were." Ami commented as the two finally walked into the room.  
  
"Sorry we're late." Serin said, taking the seat next to Endymion, and he promptly kissed her hello.  
  
"Not a problem. We were just waiting for you to start." Queen Serenity commented as everyone started eating.  
  
Rei silently slid into the seat next to Serin, and felt tears spring to her eyes when she saw the empty seat next to her. Jed's seat. 'I'm okay. I'm not going to cry again in front of everyone.' She told herself silently. Attempting to distract herself from thoughts about Jed, she allowed her eyes to wander down the table. To her right were Endymion and Serenity, flirting and being so adorable, like always. To her left, well she didn't want to look to her left. Further down on the right was Ami, who was also by herself. That gave her a small bit of comfort...not much though. Across the table she saw Makoto and Nephlite who were smiling lovingly at each other, and next to them, sat Minako and Kunzite, who were also in complete bliss. Further down, at the head of the table, sat Queen Serenity, and next to her, an empty chair. 'That's weird.' She thought. 'I wonder where she is?' Deciding to voice her question, she spoke, "Queen Serenity, what happened to my mom?" She asked.  
  
Serenity looked slightly annoyed for a moment before donning the reassuring smile she was so well known for. "I'm sure she's just lying down in her room or something. She's probably not very hungry right now." She said.  
  
Rei forced a smile. "Oh. Thanks, I was just wondering." she said as she went back to silently eating.  
  
Serin glanced worriedly over at Rei, who didn't seem to notice, and turned to Endymion. "Did you talk to Rei yet?" She whispered.  
  
He glanced over at Rei at the mention of her name and shook his head. "It feels too strange. I don't think she wants to talk to me right now." He whispered back.  
  
"Endy please! I have a feeling that she isn't going to get over this until she realize that no one blames her." She pleaded.  
  
Endymion looked down into Serin's pleading eyes and sighed softly. "Okay, I promise I'll talk to her after dinner okay?"  
  
* * *  
  
Victoria glanced away from the window that she had previously been staring out of when she heard the door open and close. She turned back when she saw who it was.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Serenity asked quietly.  
  
"I feel fine. I wish everyone would stop asking me that." She responded irritably.  
  
"It's just that we missed you at dinner. Rei was asking about you." She explained.  
  
"She knows where to find me." She said coolly. "Besides, I wasn't hungry."  
  
"You don't seem to have much of an appetite lately." Serenity said as, out of nervousness, she started folding a basket of nearby wash.  
  
"Isn't that the servants job?" Victoria asked looking over at her. "I didn't realize that not being hungry was such a crime in this place." She added.  
  
"It's not that. It's just that some people, your daughter included would like to spend some time with you before--" Serenity cut her words off in mid sentence as she realized what she had been about to say.  
  
"Before what?" Victoria asked her eyes flashing. "Finish the sentence Rennie. Before I die. That is what you were going to say wasn't it?"  
  
Serenity didn't answer.  
  
"Yeah I know I'm dying. I kinda figured that one out." Victoria retorted.  
  
"Look Vicki, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry." Serenity apologized. "I know--"  
  
"Don't." Victoria warned, cutting Serenity off. "Don't even apologize or say that you know what I'm going through." She said glaring at her. "Because you don't. Not a god damn one of you knows what I'm going through. Do you have any idea," She started. "What it's like to know that you'll never see your daughter's next birthday? To know that when she gets married you won't be there to smile proudly as she walks down the aisle. You don't know what it's like to know that you'll never hold a grandchild in your arms, or to tell your daughter how proud of her you are. So don't even try and tell me that you know what it's like. You have no fucking clue." Victoria turned away at that point and started leafing through a magazine.  
  
A moment later Serenity stormed over and knocked it away. She looked up in surprise. "Grow up Vicki." She snapped. "We've all got problems, we've all got things we regret. "Do you know what it's like to lose every person that you love, and to always forget saying something to them? To have never found the time, until it was too late?" She asked, this time, her eyes were the ones flashing in anger. "Well I do. I've lost my husband. The one morning that I overslept, because Serin had kept me up late the night before. That one time, I wasn't awake when Terence left for business, and the one morning that I didn't tell him how much I loved him. Well that was the one morning that was the last time I would ever be able to tell him, because that's the morning he died."  
  
Victoria sat there silently.  
  
"I went through the same thing when Travis died. Do you have any idea what it feels like to outlive your son?" Serenity exclaimed  
  
"No I don't." Victoria said quietly. "But I lost my husband also remember? At least you didn't have to watch some monster burn him to death because you were too afraid to stop her!"  
  
"You're right, I didn't." Serenity said finally. "But I have had to go through losing too many loved ones without them knowing how I really felt. And now it's going to happen with my baby sister." Her voice got softer towards the end.  
  
Victoria, however, wouldn't budge. "So you've got problems too. So what? At least you're still alive, you'll get over them."  
  
Serenity shot her a look of disgust. "You don't get it do you? You were given these two months for a reason!" She exclaimed. "So maybe instead of wasting them by being a bitch to everyone, you should enjoy the time you have left and spend it with those who love you. Like your daughter, for instance, or your sister, or your niece who you have barely said two words to since you got here. You aren't dead yet, you're still in the land of the living, so why don't you start acting like it." Serenity glared at her again before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her.  
  
* * *  
  
Endymion stared at the princess who was standing in front of him with her back turned. 'She's actually very beautiful.' He thought. 'I guess that's part of the reason Jade loves her so much.' At the thought of Jade he felt his anger rise again slightly. After all, if she had only tried to stop him from going with Beryl maybe he would be here right now. 'And I wouldn't be here right now trying to get up my nerves to talk to her.' He told himself. At that thought, his anger slowly died down and he remembered the reason he had come to talk to her in the first place. 'I told Serin that I would talk to her, and I plan on doing exactly that.' He thought. After a few minutes he decided he had to do this eventually, he might as well do it now, and he cleared his throat to catch her attention.  
  
* * *  
  
Beryl looked up from her drink as a flash of light appeared in front of her.  
  
"My queen." He said, bowing before her.  
  
"Zoisite." She nodded, acknowledged him and allowing him to stand. Once he was standing, she was able to see that he had an evil smile on his face.  
  
"My Queen, I have a surprise for you." He said, still smiling.  
  
"Well bring them in, I don't have all day you know." She said irritably.  
  
He nodded and a moment later another flash appeared in the room.  
  
Beryl gasped when she saw whom it was. "It worked?" She asked, not believing what she saw.  
  
Zoisite nodded. "He is ours now. Ask him anything to prove it."  
  
Beryl looked over at the man. He was standing upright, his blue eyes staring straight ahead. His golden hair was brushed back, except for a small strand that continued to fall down in his face. His hands were firmly at his sides, encased in freshly washed white gloves. He was wearing a navy uniform, long sleeves, and long pants, with a red trim around the edge. On his feet was a pair of shining black boots, and on his face, a look of pure evil.  
  
"Jeadite."  
  
"Yes my Queen?" He asked as he turned to her, his head bowed.  
  
"I want you to answer a few questions for me." She continued.  
  
"Of course your majesty."  
  
"First, you may rise."  
  
He raised his head.  
  
"Who are you loyal to?"  
  
"The Negaverse, and especially, to you my Queen."  
  
"What will you do if you come across Prince Endymion?"  
  
"Exactly what I have been training to do. Kill him."  
  
"What about if you come across the Princess Rei of Mars?"  
  
"Show absolutely no mercy while I kill her."  
  
Beryl laughed in delight as she clapped her hands. "Thank you Jeadite that will be all." She said as he transported away.  
  
Zoisite smiled at his Queen's reactions.  
  
She turned to him. "Zoisite you did a wonderful job!" She exclaimed.  
  
"I told you it would be worth the wait." He responded.  
  
She nodded. "Yes, he definitely was. I want you to continue training him, but I would also like you to send a message, to Earth."  
  
"A message?" He asked.  
  
She nodded again as an evil smile crept along her face. "Send them the good news. It's time to let them know..."  
  
* * *  
  
Rei brushed a strand of hair out of her face as she stared out the window, thinking about Jed. The loss that she felt in her heart was incredibly strong, and incredibly painful. 'I never knew someone could hurt so bad.' She thought. 'But then again, I never thought I would fall in love with Jed! I still remember how we first met. When I ran own the hill and knocked him over.' She smiled a bit. 'I didn't even want to meet him! And now, I love him more than anyone.' She felt a strong pain run through her heart, at the memories that she was dredging up. 'I can't do this anymore.' She thought. 'I'm sick of being hurt, and I'm sick of being sad. I need to get over it.' At that thought she heard someone cleared his throat behind her and turned around to see who it was. "Hello Endymion." She said in a flat tone.  
  
The Prince smiled wryly at her as he moved closer. "Don't sound so excited Princess." He said.  
  
"Wouldn't want to flatter you would I?" She asked turning back to the window.  
  
"Look Rei, we need to talk."  
  
She turned back to him. "The only reason you are even willing to talk to me is because Serin asked you to. You're just trying to keep her happy."  
  
He was silent.  
  
"I'm right, aren't I?"  
  
"So what if you are?" He asked, his eyes flashing in sudden anger. "What is so wrong with trying to keep the person that you love happy?"  
  
"Nothing. I just wanted to know that everything you plan on saying today, is what you really feel, it's going to be what will make Serin happy." She said coolly.  
  
He shrugged, his anger now gone. "Maybe it will be, maybe it won't. But either way, I came here to apologize, and whether or not you want to accept it is your choice. Just like it's your choice if you want to believe me or not."  
  
"Fine. Talk."  
  
He took a deep breath before starting. "I wanted to tell you that I realize that my behavior the other day was uncalled for and unacceptable. And I wanted to apologize for acting that way. You didn't deserve it."  
  
She shrugged. "Whatever. You let you emotions overcome you."  
  
He continued, as if she had never spoken a word. "And I shouldn't have done what I did, and I'm sorry. I was just so...so upset, for lack of a better word, at Jade's capture and I didn't know what to make of it. And I took my anger out on you, and I'm sorry for that." He said, tears welling up in his eyes at the thoughts of his missing comrade.  
  
She looked over at him and he was surprised to see that her face held no emotion. Over the past few days her cheeks had always been stained with tears streaks, and her eyes held a look of hollowness, of regret and anger. But the emptiness wasn't even there anymore, it was just completely void of any feeling or emotion whatsoever.  
  
"Well now you've talked to me, and now I know how you felt about it, so you can leave if you want. You can go tell Serin that you talked to me and everything is fine between us so she will be happy." She said in a monotone voice.  
  
"That's it?" He asked incredulously. "That's all you're going to say to me?"  
  
She gave him a strange look, one that almost asked, 'Are you crazy?' "Yes that's all I'm saying. What would you like me to say?"  
  
He stared at her in disbelief as he felt his anger surge though him once again. "It would be nice if you would show a little compassion!" He exclaimed. "I just poured my heart out to you, and you sit there and say fine whatever?!"  
  
She glared at him. "Yes I'm going to sit here and say fine whatever." She stood from the couch she had previously sitting on and walked over to him. "I don't care what you say. It doesn't affect me anymore. I stopped caring what you said when you blamed me for Jade's capture."  
  
"Well technically it is your fault isn't it?" He snapped, before he could realize what he was saying. "I mean you were there, you could have done something, but you didn't even transform!" He yelled.  
  
Her eyes narrowed in anger and if he hadn't been so busy yelling at her, he would have noticed the anger that was slowly creeping into her face.  
  
"You just stood there, watching while he was taken by the enemy." He lowered his voice "And now look at you. You don't even care about what happened to him. I used to be able to tell why he adored you so much, why you were so close to him, and why you meant so much to him. But now," He paused for a moment and delivered the words that he would soon live to regret. "But now, I have no idea what possessed him to care so much about a bitch like you who doesn't even give a damn that he's gone."  
  
Her hand flew across his face before she realized what she was doing. "Fuck you." She said glaring at him.  
  
Finally realizing what he had done, he gasped. "I'm sorry, I didn't meant it like that." He choked out.  
  
"You know you did. Just like you meant it when you said that it was my fault Jade was taken. No point in lying about how you really feel." She said.  
  
He stood there in shock, unable to respond.  
  
"But now it's time you know how I really feel." She said angrily. "I may come across as a bitch to you right now, but you come across as an asshole to me, and right now, I really don't know what Jed or Serin sees in you. But since you're my best friend's fiancée, I'm going to refrain from calling you the things that are going through my head right now."  
  
"Look, I,"  
  
"I'm not done." She snapped. "I don't care if you hate me forever, I don't care if you blame me forever, hell, I don't even care if you can't see why Jed and I were so close. But never, ever say anything like that to me again. Never tell me that I don't care about him. That I don't give a damn that he's gone. Because I care about him more than you could ever realize." Tears were starting to form in her eyes as she gave her speech. "The only reason that I'm acting like I don't care is because I care too much! I love him, more than even I can comprehend, and the pain that my heart is going through right now is unbearable!"  
  
He reeled back in shock. 'All this time, she really had loved him back. And now because of Beryl, she never got the chance to tell him. And I had to go and accuse her of not caring about him when really...Oh My God!'  
  
She composed herself, drying her eyes as she finished. "I love Jed. There, I've finally said it. I love Jed. And I don't care who knows it anymore. But don't ever accuse me of not caring for him, because you don't know anything about what I'm going through. Please excuse me of this outburst." She turned away again, refusing to look at him.  
  
He was about to respond when there was a knock at the door. "Come in." He called. The large door opened and a servant rushed over to them, handing Endymion a piece of paper. "It's a message from Queen Gaia of Earth, my Prince." He said bowing, before quickly running off again. He unfolded the paper and silently read the message.  
  
Rei watched carefully and noticed how his face changed into features of fear after a moment. "What is it?" She asked, her voice now worried, having completely forgotten about their argument that had ended only seconds before. "What's wrong?"  
  
Endymion crumpled the paper and looked up at her, saying in a grim voice, "Beryl just declared war on Earth."  
  
* * *  
  
"Serin!"  
  
Serin turned around and smiled as she saw Endymion jogging up to her. Her smile disappeared when she saw the worried look on his face. "What's wrong?" She asked immediately.  
  
"Beryl...just declared...war." He panted.  
  
She stared at him, unsure that she had heard right. "She declared war?" She asked slowly.  
  
He nodded. "On Earth."  
  
"Oh God...you have to leave don't you?" She asked.  
  
He nodded. "I'm sorry Serin. I don't want to leave you."  
  
She forced a smile. "It's not your fault. When do you have to go?"  
  
"Day after tomorrow."  
  
Serin looked away in disappointment. 'I only have two days left with him?' She thought. She just then realized how selfish her thoughts were. At least she had those two days left with him, and at least she knew that he was leaving. 'Unlike Ami and Rei.'  
  
"Serin, I have a favor I have to ask you." Endymion started.  
  
She turned to look at him. "Anything, what do you need?"  
  
"I don't want Terra to stay there."  
  
A look of confusion came across her face. "Terra?"  
  
"My little sister." He explained.  
  
"Ohh I remember okay." Serin said as she realized whom he was talking about.  
  
"Anyway, she's only nine years old, and I don't want her to have to be there during the war. It's bad enough that it's happening on her planet, I don't want her to be anymore involved than that." He explained.  
  
"I would love for her to come stay with me."  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Serin, you don't know how much that means to me." He exclaimed.  
  
She smiled at him. "I'm glad I can help. I've been dying to meet her anyway."  
  
"Great. I have to go talk to your mom about it though and make sure it's okay, I just wanted to ask you first. And than I have to go send a message to my mom and tell her to send Terra here. I promise I'll catch up with you later okay? Love you." He said as he kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"Love you too." She said as she rushed off. She stared above and quietly said, "I don't know if anyone is really up there but if there is, please, keep him safe and bring him back to me."  
  
* * *  
  
Rei was still sitting on the couch, in the same room the argument had just occurred in, and was in shock at what had just happened. 'She's declared war?' She thought in disbelief. She felt the familiar feeling of tears well up in her eyes as she realized that they would have to fight against Jed now, but she quickly shook away the feeling, now wasn't the time to cry.  
  
"I guess you heard about the war huh?"  
  
Rei turned in surprise to see who had spoken. "Mom!" She cried rushing over to help her to the couch.  
  
"Rei, you don't have to treat me like an invalid. I'm not some senile old lady who can't walk herself to the couch!" Victoria said smiling at her daughter.  
  
She smiled back. "Just in case." She said.  
  
"Back to my question, did you hear about the war?"  
  
"Yeah. The Prince and his generals are planning on leaving tomorrow." She said.  
  
Victoria nodded. "I don't really see how that could have gotten you so upset. You're not one to cry easily." She commented.  
  
Rei looked over at her in surprise. "I wasn't crying."  
  
"You look like you were."  
  
She sighed. "I guess I was, but it wasn't over that."  
  
"Care to tell me what it was about?" Victoria asked, moving closer to her daughter.  
  
"Jed."  
  
"Ahh. Now I see what's wrong. You miss him, don't you?"  
  
She nodded, trying to ignore the lump that was once again forming in her throat.  
  
"Oh, my poor baby." Victoria said gathering her in her arms and comforting her near sobbing daughter.  
  
"He's gone, and I don't know if I'm ever going to see him again, and now," She stopped for a minute to calm herself down. "And now, you're leaving too."  
  
"I know, I know. I don't want to go either, I'm going to miss you so much." Victoria said, hugging her tightly.  
  
"Mom, do you remember that time, about 6 years ago, when you first told me that I was one of Princess Serenity's guardians?" Rei asked.  
  
She nodded. "Of course I remember, that was the beginning of five years that you didn't talk to me."  
  
Rei pulled away as she continued. "I said that I wished I had never been born the princess of Mars, and that I had never gotten my fire, and I take it back. You are the best mom in the world and I love you so much, and everything that's good about me comes from you."  
  
Victoria felt a tear trickle down her cheek. "You don't know how much that means to me to know that you feel that way." She said smiling.  
  
Rei smiled sadly. "I just wish you weren't leaving."  
  
"Rei...there's something that I didn't tell you." She started slowly.  
  
She looked at her. "What are you talking about?"  
  
She took a deep breath. "I told you that the only way for me to cure this disease was a heart transplant, and that was unlikely. That isn't exactly true."  
  
Rei gave her a bright smile and jumped up in excitement. "Well that's great. So there are other treatments? Does this mean you aren't going to die?"  
  
Victoria shook her head. "There are other treatments, but they are still experimental. And the doctor that diagnosed me did ask if I wanted to try them, and see if they helped prolong my life. It was my decision and they would go along with whatever I wanted to do."  
  
She slowly sank back onto the couch as the meaning of the words sunk in. "You told them no though, didn't you?" She asked softly.  
  
Victoria nodded. "Sweetie, please try to understand. I don't want to go through this any more. I don't want any more tests and experiments. I'm through with all that. I just want to spend the rest of my time with my family. I'm ready for this."  
  
Rei's face crinkled in confusion. "You want to die?" She asked.  
  
Victoria nodded again. "It's not that I don't love you or that I don't want to be there for you because I do. But this is my fate; this is the way things are supposed to be. I lived my life, I did all I could, and now it's time for me to leave."  
  
"I think I understand." Rei said slowly.  
  
"I'm ready Rei. My time here is done, and now I'm ready to face whatever is on the other side. I'm sick of being tired and of being sick. I'm sick of trying to be the perfect mother, or the perfect sister, or the perfect aunt, and I'm sick of missing your father." She said quietly.  
  
Rei hugged her mother tightly as everything became clear to her. "I love you mom, and I'm gonna miss you, but I give you my consent in what you are doing." She said. "Thanks for telling me about this."  
  
Victoria hugged her back. "Thank you Rei. I'm going to miss you and I will always love you."  
  
* * *  
  
"ENDYMION!"  
  
Endymion and Serin turned around just a young girl flung herself into his arms. "Terra!" He exclaimed happily, hugging the little girl. After a moment he put the small girl down and the two turned to Serin. "Serin, remember I told you that I have a little sister, this is her. Serin, meet Terra, Terra, meet Serin." He said introducing the two.  
  
Serin smiled and knelt down so she was eye level with the girl. "Hi there! It's so nice to finally meet you, Endy talks about you a lot."  
  
Terra smiled back. "Hi!" She looked down and noticed the ring on Serin's hand, and then looked back up to her. "Are you his girlfriend?" She asked curiously.  
  
Serin nodded. "How old are you?" She asked the little girl.  
  
"I'm nine. How old are you?"  
  
"I'm 18."  
  
"Are you gonna be my big sister?" Terra asked.  
  
Serin nodded again. "As soon as you brother beats up all the bad guys." She explained.  
  
"So so so so so so cool!" Terra squealed jumping up and down.  
  
Serin stood back up and leaned into Endymion's embrace.  
  
"I knew she'd like you." Endymion whispered to her. He looked back down at Terra. "Terra, who would you like to stay here on the moon with Serin for a few weeks?"  
  
Her face lit up in delight. "Can I really?" She asked.  
  
Serin nodded. "You're gonna stay with me at the palace for a few weeks okay?"  
  
Terra nodded. At that moment the others walked outside.  
  
Endymion looked down at his watch. "It's time to leave already?" He groaned.  
  
Nephlite smiled. "'Fraid so buddy. Hey Terra." He added, just noticing the little girl.  
  
She waved happily. "Hi Nephlite! I get to stay with Serin for a few weeks while you guys go fight all the bad guys on Earth." She looked around the group that had accumulated outside. Her eyes passed Endymion and Serin, Nephlite and Kunzite, and four girls that she didn't know. She didn't see two people though that she should have. "Where's Jade?" She asked.  
  
The others all exchanged glances as Endymion knelt down to explain. "Terra, you remember those bad guys that we have to fight on Earth?" He asked.  
  
She nodded. "What about them?"  
  
"Well part of the reason that we have to fight them is because their leader took Jade away from us, and we gotta get him back." He explained gently.  
  
She looked around the group again. "What about Zoisite?"  
  
"They took him too."  
  
Terra felt a small tear come to her eyes but refused to acknowledge its presence. "They're gone?" She asked in a small voice. "Am I ever gonna see them again?"  
  
Serin knelt down and gave the small girl a hug. "Of course you will sweetie! That's why Endymion and Nephlite and Kunzite are going to Earth to fight the bad guys. They gotta save them."  
  
While Serin comforted the little girl, Rei and Ami said their good-byes to each of the generals. They briefly hugged them, wishing them luck and God speed. Rei paused for a moment, however, when she got to Endymion. "Rei, I want to..."  
  
She smiled at him, silencing him. "Look, let's just pretend that nothing ever happened between us. No more apologies. Agreed?" She asked.  
  
He nodded, smiling back at her. "Agreed."  
  
"Make sure you take care of yourself over there. We can't have you getting yourself killed or anything cause then Serin would be sad. And we can't have that now can we?" She asked, rolling her eyes.  
  
He laughed in spite of himself. "I promise."  
  
Rei and Ami walked over to Serin and Terra. "Want us to take her inside so you guys can say good-bye alone?" Ami asked.  
  
Serin looked up, noticing the two behind her and nodded. "Thanks guys." She turned back to Terra. "These are two of my friends. They're gonna take you inside and show you your room. I'll be there in a few minutes okay?"  
  
Terra nodded.  
  
'This is Ami, and this is Rei." Serin said pointing each person out.  
  
Her face lit up in remembrance and a strange sense of familiarity. "You're Rei?" She asked turning to her.  
  
Rei, although slightly confused and having no idea how Terra knew her, nodded.  
  
Nephlite, Kunzite, and Endymions' eyes all widened as they realized what Terra was about to say.  
  
"No Terra that was just..." Kunzite started, frantically trying to stop the girl before she ended her sentence.  
  
"You're Jade's girlfriend." She said in delight.  
  
"...A joke." He finished.  
  
Rei glanced over at the guys who were all wearing guilty looks, and then back at Terra. "What are you talking about? I'm not Jade's girlfriend; I never was." She said.  
  
Terra looked over at the guards in confusion. "But you guys said..." She looked back at Rei. "You are the one that used to write him letters all the time right?" She asked.  
  
She nodded. "Yeah but I don't get what that has to do with anything."  
  
"We used to tease Jade all the time that you were his girlfriend because of the strong bond you two obviously shared. It didn't mean anything; it was just a joke that Terra misunderstood. Sorry." Endymion explained in embarrasment, glaring at his younger sister.  
  
"That and the fact that she signed all her letters, 'love always'." Nephlite said softly which, thankfully, she didn't hear.  
  
Rei forced a smile even though the pain she felt inside was incredibly strong and she felt ready to explode any second. "It's okay, no big deal." She said.  
  
"Why don't we just take Terra inside and let you guys said good-bye." Ami said hastily, grabbing Terra by the hand and leading the girl inside the palace. Rei was right behind her.  
  
Serin walked back over to where Endymion and the others were standing.  
  
"Don't worry about it too much you guys." Makoto was saying.  
  
"Yeah we used to do the same thing to her all the time." Minako added.  
  
"I know but I can't help but feel that it meant more to her this time, because of, well you know." Endymion said, giving Serin a meaningful glance.  
  
"Look," She said, putting her arms around him. "We only have a few more minutes before you guys have to leave, so let's not talk about that right now okay?"  
  
The others agreed and Makoto and Nephlite walked off in one direction, while Minako and Kunzite went in the other. Leaving Serin and Endymion alone.  
  
They were silent for a few minutes, just enjoying the time they had left being in each other's arms.  
  
"Do you really have to go?" Serin asked.  
  
"You know I do. I'm the Prince and I can't desert my planet during a war." He said softly. "And I have to get Jade and Zoisite back."  
  
"I know. I'm gonna miss you so much though." Serin said as a tear slid down her cheek.  
  
"Hey don't cry. I'll be back before you know it." He said, gently wiping away the single tear that had fallen.  
  
"I'm just so afraid, that something is going to happen to you, and you won't come back." She said, choking back a sob.  
  
He cupped her cheeks in his hands and slowly kissed her. "Serin I promise you, nothing will ever keep me from returning to you. Nothing."  
  
She gave him a small smile. "Promise?"  
  
"Promise. Real soon I'll be back on the moon, Jade and Zoisite will be back, and we'll be getting married." He said.  
  
She smiled at him, this time with a genuine smile. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too." He said smiling.  
  
* * *  
  
Makoto sighed as she leaned her head against Nephlite's shoulder.  
  
"Is something wrong?" He asked as he put an arm around her.  
  
She shook her head. "I just wish you didn't have to go."  
  
"I know. I don't want to go either. But you do understand why I have to right?" He asked in concern.  
  
She nodded. "You're the Prince's protectors. You have to be there to keep him safe. I know, I would be doing the same if we were on Earth, and Beryl attacked here."  
  
"Also because of Jade and Zoisite. We can't leave them there. Even if it's the last thing I do, Jade and Zoisite will be back with us. I promise you that."  
  
Makoto shivered and stood in front of Nephlite, stopping his movements. "Don't say things like that. The last thing that you are going to do before you die is be with me, and that will be years from now."  
  
He smiled gently at her. "I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."  
  
"You are coming back though, aren't you?" she asked.  
  
He lightly brushed a strand of hair away from her face and gently kissed her forehead. "Makoto, I love you more than any one and I promise you that I am coming back. There is very little that could keep you away from me." He said, pulling her close to him.  
  
"But what if Beryl gets you?" She asked, breaking away from his embrace, once again worried. "She's already gotten Jade and Zoisite. What if you're next?"  
  
"I have something I want to give to you." He said, changing the subject, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a small black box.  
  
"Well at least this time I know you aren't proposing to me." She said with a small smile when she saw the box.  
  
He smiled back. "What is in this box is just my way of showing you that I promise that I am coming back alive. Nothing will ever keep me from you." He handed her the box.  
  
She opened it to reveal a pair of earrings, each one in the shape of a red rose, with small green leaves underneath. She gasped in delight. "Nephlite they're gorgeous! I love them." She said hugging him.  
  
He smiled. "I'm glad. And just like these flowers, my love for you will never die, but will continue to bloom forever."  
  
The two shared a lingering passionate kiss before Makoto pulled apart and put the earrings in.  
  
"Come on, we had better head back." Nephlite said taking her hand in his. "The others are probably wondering what happened to us."  
  
* * *  
  
Minako and Kunzite walked down the woven path, hand in hand, in, for the most part, complete silence. "You know, it's weird." Minako commented, finally breaking the silence.  
  
"What's weird?" He asked.  
  
"Well I'm sure that right now, Serin and Makoto are asking Endymion and Nephlite if they really have to leave, whereas I already know the answer."  
  
"So I guess you aren't going to ask me if I really have to go huh?" Kunzite asked.  
  
She shrugged. "I know that you do and that there is no way around it, so why bother wasting our time together asking questions when we both know the answers already anyway?"  
  
"You act like you don't even mind that I am not going to be here." He said quietly.  
  
She turned to him in surprise. "Of course I'm going to mind! I'm going to miss you like crazy but I'm not going to waste time asking stupid questions." She explained.  
  
"Minako, can we sit down a minute? There is something I want to talk to you about." Kunzite said, gesturing towards a bench where the two took a seat.  
  
"What's up?" Minako asked.  
  
He took her hand in his and stared into her eyes. "I want you to know that I care very deeply for you--" He started.  
  
"I know that, and I care for you too." She cut in.  
  
He released her hand and held up his to silence her for a moment. "Just let me finish." He said.  
  
She nodded, waiting for him to continue.  
  
"From the first day that I saw you, when you showed me around the palace, I was head over heels for you. Even though you had eyes only for Jade, I didn't give up. I couldn't. Just to see you smile, to watch you laugh, to hear your voice, watch you push your hair out of your face, made me so incredibly happy, that I would wonder what it would be like to be with you." He admitted. "And now that I know, I never want this to end."  
  
Minako stared at him in confusion. "Kunz, what are you talking about?" She asked.  
  
He moved off the bench onto one knee in front of her and she gasped in surprise. "Princess Minako of Venus, I love you more than life itself, and you mean more to mean than anyone ever has or ever will. Will you marry me?" He asked, holding out a box with a simple gold ring with a diamond at the top, surrounded by ruby gemstones.  
  
For the next few minutes, Minako was speechless.  
  
"Minako?" He asked.  
  
"Kunzite, I don't know what to say...I do love you..."  
  
"But?" He prompted her.  
  
"But don't you think this is a little quick? We've only been going out for about a week!" She exclaimed.  
  
He stood up and sat down next to her again on the bench. "I known this seems quick, and this is perhaps the most insane thing I've ever done, but I fell in love with you from the very first time I laid eyes on you. I know we haven't been dating that long, but I feel like I have loved you forever, and I want to continue doing that." He explained passionately.  
  
Minako bit her lower lip in confusion. Here she was, the so called, 'rational scout' and she was actually considering marrying someone that she had only been dating for a week.  
  
Kunzite took her silence in the wrong way, mistaking it as her way of rejecting him. "Look, it's no big deal if you don't feel the same way. I understand that it is somewhat quick." He said, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice. He looked down at his watch. "We should be heading back, we only have a few more minutes before we have to leave." He turned away and started walking back down the path that the two had come down.  
  
Minako fought an inner battle, trying to decide what to do. Quickly enough, one side won and she called out, "Hey Kunz,"  
  
He turned around expectantly  
  
She smiled at him. "How am I going to brag about my engagement if you don't at least give me the ring?" I mean it would be nice if people believed me when I tell them I'm engaged to the head of Prince Endymion of Earth's guards right?" She asked.  
  
His face broke out into a smile as the realization of her statement hit him.  
  
She ran over to him and hugged him tightly. "You are coming back right?"  
  
He smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. "As long as you are here waiting."  
  
* * *  
  
"Serin, I have something I want to give to you and I want to do it before the others come back." Endymion said, pulling away from their embrace.  
  
"Endy, you don't have to give me anything." Serin protested.  
  
He shrugged. "That's not the point. This is a promise of my love to you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a necklace. He held it up to her.  
  
"What is it?" She asked looking it over curiously.  
  
"It's a locket." He said opening the top. Inside was a recent picture of the two of them and the familiar strains of music drifted out.  
  
"There will come a day, somewhere far away, in your arms I'll stay, my only love..." Serin sang softly as she heard the music.  
  
He grinned at her. "I take it you like it?"  
  
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I love it."  
  
"Good. This is my promise to you that I will always love you and I will be coming back to you." He promised as he gently pried her off.  
  
She smiled up at him. "Make it quick."  
  
The two were about to embrace in a kiss when the other couples walked back up.  
  
Minako ran over to Serin and Makoto excitedly. "Guess who just got engaged?" She asked.  
  
Serin and Makoto looked at her in surprise and when they saw he ring that was on her finger, they screamed in excitement and hugged her.  
  
"That is one thing I will not miss." Nephlite commented.  
  
"Be quiet you." Makoto scolded as she walked over to him. At that moment a large space ship (I'm sorry I have no idea how else to do this part) appeared behind the six and the doors opened.  
  
"You're going by ship?" Serin asked in surprise.  
  
"Beryl can interfere with our transportation too easily. It's safer this way." Endymion explained.  
  
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" She asked worriedly.  
  
He smiled at her. "I promise."  
  
The three men then proceeded to say good-bye to their loved ones, and boarded the ship. Within minute they were gone.  
  
Minako sighed as she stared at the place in front of her that Kunzite had occupied only moments before.  
  
"They will be back...won't they?" Makoto said, although not really expecting an answer.  
  
Serin sighed wistfully. "I miss him already."  
  
* * *  
  
"You like those beds don't you?"  
  
Terra continued jumping on the bed as she turned to see who had walked into the room. "SERIN!!!!!" She yelled as she hurled herself at the older girl.  
  
"Whoa." Serin said as she caught her and put her down on the floor. "What's up with you?"  
  
Terra smiled. "Ami and Rei gave me chocolate!" She giggled in delight.  
  
Serin rolled her eyes and made a mental note never to give Terra sugar. "Oh they did did they? Well how bout we sit down and you can ask me any questions you might have okay?"  
  
"Okay." Terra agreed and plopped down on the floor.  
  
Serin plopped down next to her, but a little bit more gracefully. "So what do you think of your room?" She asked.  
  
Terra looked around the room. "I like it." She said solemnly.  
  
Serin smiled at the younger girl. "Well that's good. And across from here are Ami's, Makoto's, and Minako's room. Right next to yours is my room, and next to that is Rei's room."  
  
The excited looked on the little girl's face vanished when Serin mentioned Rei. "Is Rei all mad at me cause of what I said before?" She asked.  
  
Serin hugged the girl as she shook her head. "Of course not. It wasn't you fault and Rei knows that. She just seemed mad because she's upset and misses Jade."  
  
"Ohhh. I miss Jade too." Terra said.  
  
"You two were pretty close huh?"  
  
She nodded. "He was like my other brother."  
  
"Yeah he was like that to a lot of people." Serin said thoughtfully.  
  
Terra looked up at her. "You miss him too, don't you?"  
  
Serin sighed. "Yeah, I really do."  
  
* * *  
  
Serin raced down the hallway as quickly as she could. 'Please let me get there on time!' She prayed. A few minutes ago a messenger had burst into the room she had been in with Terra, to tell her that Queen Victoria was close to dying, and was not expected to live out the day. After making sure that someone would keep an eye on Terra, she raced towards the Queen's bedroom as quickly as she could. She stopped once she reached the door so she could catch her breath, and then proceeded to walk in.  
  
Serenity, Rei, and Victoria looked up as Serin quietly slipped into the room. "Hey everyone."  
  
Rei gave her a small smile. "Glad you could make it Serin."  
  
Victoria, who was in bed and looked like she was in incredible pain, beckoned for Serin to come over to the bed. "Serin, I want to apologize to you." She managed to get out.  
  
"Mom, save your breath. Serin knows that you love her." Rei tried to stop her.  
  
Victoria shook her head. "Rei, I need to do this. Please let me."  
  
She fell silent and Victoria continued.  
  
"I'm sorry, first of all, from keeping Rei from you, and for never allowing Serenity to tell you about her. And I also sorry for the way that I treated you once I got here."  
  
Serin opened her mouth to comment but was stopped by Victoria.  
  
"I never really talked to you, I never made it a point to, and I'm sorry for that." She apologized.  
  
Serin smiled. "No big deal. I'm over it."  
  
Victoria tried to smile but ended up gasping in pain. Her eyes squeezed close and her grip on Rei's hand increased for a moment, and then she relaxed as it was over.  
  
"Are you okay?" Serenity asked in concern.  
  
She slowly opened her eyes and sighed. "As well as can be expected. I'm glad that you are all here today." She paused for a minute to cough before continuing. "I love you all so much and I'm gonna miss you."  
  
"Don't talk like that. You'll be fine, you'll see." Rei said with tears forming in her eyes.  
  
Victoria looked over at her and managed a small smile. "Rei, I'm sorry that I won't be there on your wedding day, and I'm sorry that I won't be there on your birthdays anymore, and I'm sorry that I won't be here for you anymore. But it's time now sweetie. I've prepared for this and I'm ready." She said softly.  
  
Rei ignored the tear that spilled out of her eye and trickled down her cheek. "I love you mom." She said.  
  
"I love you too." She turned to Serin and Serenity. "And I love the both of you and I'm sorry I'm deserting you like this."  
  
Serenity smiled at her. "We love you too Vicki, you'll be in our hearts always."  
  
Serin silently nodded.  
  
She turned back to Rei who leaned down, kissing her mother and embracing her. After a moment she pulled away from the embrace and stood up, giving her mother one last smile. "Say hello to dad for me okay?" Rei asked choking back her tears.  
  
Victoria smiled back at them and said the last words they would ever hear from her. "I promise..."  
  
* * *  
  
"God damn youma..." Kunzite muttered as he slashed two more with his sword. "They just keep coming!" He paused for a moment to make sure that his troops were all together before pushing on through the battle. What troops he had left, that was. Beryl's youma were growing stronger and stronger with each one, and he had long ago run out of energy to pull off an attack. 'Without the scouts here it's almost hopeless.' He thought. As another youma feel to the ground of its final resting-place, a smile crept along his face. 'Almost.'  
  
"General Kunzite!"  
  
He turned around to see who had called out to him. It was a young man that was currently serving under him. "What's wrong?" He shouted over to him.  
  
The young man gestured to another soldier at his feet. "He's badly hurt, I'm going to transport him out of here so he can get help. I'll be back as soon as I can." He shouted.  
  
Kunzite nodded and turned back to the fight. 'Let's hope he makes it back.' He grimaced. Beryl had been interrupting transportation more and more, and to attempt one was incredibly dangerous. 'But so is staying on the battle field when you are fatally wounded.' He thought. He looked ahead and noticed a large cloud of dust, some hundred feet away. The youma were gone for the moment so he decided it was safe to leave the troops alone for a few minutes. He turned to face them. "Troops! Gather round." He yelled as he sheathed his sword. His heart sank at the sight of them. Many were missing arms and legs, others had large wounds that had been opened again and again during battle. Their hair was messed, and for many of them, the spirit of life had gone out of them. 'Let's all hope this war is over soon, for all of our sakes.' He thought before telling them the next plan. "Behind me, a few hundred feet," He said pointing behind him. "You will notice a large cloud of dust that is forming. Before we go any further, I want to go check it out and make sure it's safe. I want you all to stay here, and hopefully no one will attack. I won't be long." With that he turned and walked towards the large cloud of dust. After about five minutes, he entered through the strange cloud, and when he looked back to see if his men were all right, he could see nothing but dust. Panicked, he turned around and tried to find his way out through the way he had come in, but it was hopeless. He was surrounded on all four sides, along with top and bottom, by dust. "Damn it." He cursed.  
  
"Now now, we can't have such vulgar language."  
  
Kunzite whirled around to see who had spoken, but no one was there.  
  
"Over here." The voice sighed. "My God, you Earthlings are so slow."  
  
Kunzite recognized the voice almost immediately and slowly turning around, fearing what he would see.  
  
His fears were brought to life in front of his eyes.  
  
"What do you want?" He asked in a low voice.  
  
"To rule the Universe." Beryl answered truthfully.  
  
"Over my dead body..." Kunzite growled pulling out his sword.  
  
"Now now, we can't have you dead can we?" She asked smiling evilly at him. "Afterall, what good would a dead Negaverse General be to me?"  
  
"In your dreams!" He yelled charging at her.  
  
She shot her hand out and an invisible force slammed into his chest knocking him away and to the ground.  
  
He started to get up but grasped his chest in pain as he groaned. The forced was still there.  
  
She walked over to him and bent down to look him straight in the eye as she responded, "More like in your nightmares. And we both know from experience, it's easier for a nightmare to come true than a dream, isn't it?"  
  
He glared at her. "I will never succumb to the Negaverse!" He said spitting in her face.  
  
She slapped him sharply across the face. "Now you had to go and make me angry." She said. "Why couldn't you be like Generals Zoisite and Jeadite and just willingly come? Makes the whole thing a lot easier."  
  
He shook his head fiercely. "You're lying, neither of them would go willingly!"  
  
She shrugged. "Believe what you want." She smiled at him again as she slowly traced her finger along his chin. "Maybe I'll keep you as my *personal* slave. I like your feisty personality." She said laughing.  
  
He struggled to get up but the force was too strong. "Not in your life witch!" He hissed. "I love Princess Minako."  
  
She stood up quickly, angry at the rejection. She snapped her fingers and two youma appeared, quickly wrapping tight bonds around his wrists and ankles. "We'll just see about that." She snapped.  
  
"You can't take me away," He said struggling. "What about my troops?"  
  
"Watch me." She smiled as she heard his second question. "Oh yes, your...troops." She waved her hand and the dust disappeared and they were back at the battlefield.  
  
Kunzite looked over the field and saw hundreds of fallen soldiers. Not one of them one was moving. He fell to his knees in defeat and sorrow. "I'm sorry my Prince, I have failed you." A single tear slid down his cheek and fell to the ground. "Forgive me Minako, my love." He whispered before Beryl transported them away. The tear that had slid down his cheek had fallen to the ground only seconds before and left a small mark on the ground. The small tribute to the many that had fallen that day, and those who would continue to fall. The small tribute left by a General to his liege. The small tribute left by a man to his love.  
  
* * *  
  
"I'll talk to you later, bye!" Minako called as she opened the door to her room and walked in, shutting it behind her. "My head is killing me." She murmured as she searched for aspirin. Finally finding some, she took a few and sat down on the couch. 'I miss Kunzite.' She thought as she twirled the ring on her finger. 'I just hope he's coming back soon.' Her headache started to increase in intense pain and she fell to the floor, grasping her head. 'My God, what the hell kind of aspirin was that?' She wondered as she held her head in pain. The pain slowly decreased and she managed to stand up again. 'That was weird.' She thought. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that the curtains were blowing from wind. 'I didn't leave the windows open did I?' She thought. She started to make her way over to them to close them when the windowpanes burst, sending millions of tiny pieces of glass everywhere and a folded sheet of orange paper blew in and landed at her feet. Minako instantly knew something was wrong and she bent down, shaking in fear, to pick up the paper. It was sealed with the planetary symbol of Venus and on the front it simply said, Princess Minako, and when she opened it, there was a short note:  
  
Princess Minako,  
  
I have your precious Kunzite now, and don't expect to get him back anytime soon.  
  
Queen Beryl  
  
P.S. I suggest you visit your friend Princess Makoto for my other message  
  
She stared at the letter for a minute until the true meaning of the words sunk in and she burst into tears as she fell to the floor, sobs wracking her body. She sat there crying for hours, staring at the ring on her finger, and reliving the short time the two had spent together. After a long time, she picked up the letter again, and this time, noticed the P.S. The letter fluttered to the ground as she raced out of the room.  
  
And then there was one.  
  
* * *  
  
Nephlite closed the door to his room and leaned against it, closing his eyes. Kunzite, Jeadite, and Zoisite were all gone. He was the only one left. 'God damn her!' He thought as tears stung his eyes. How was he supposed to do this all by himself? He didn't even have the scouts with him to help! The thought of the scouts brought back memories of his love, which brought a smile to his face. He stared at the picture of her that she had given to him. "Something to remember me by." She had told him. "Makoto I don't think I could ever forget you." He said as she picked up in the frame, carefully handling it.  
  
"Aww how touching."  
  
Nephlite carefully placed the frame back on his dresser, knowing who was there before he even turned around. "Hello Jeadite."  
  
General Jeadite walked out of the shadows. "What no Jade? No more terms of friendship?" He asked smirking.  
  
Nephlite turned around to face the person that had once been his best friend and shook his head. "No, because you aren't the Jade that I knew. The Jade that I knew would never desert the people that were close to him, the people that cared about him."  
  
"Cared about me? Ha." Jeadite said spitting. "Not a damn one of you cared about me."  
  
"What about Princess Serenity? Or Prince Endymion? What about Princess Rei? And what about me?" He asked softly.  
  
"Princes Serenity only pretended to care about me because I reminded her about her brother. Endymion and Rei only cared about me because their parents forced them to when they were young. Old habits die hard." He sneered. "And as for you," His face softened for a moment. "Well maybe you really did care for me, and if you did that would make things a lot easier. I miss talking to you Neph, just come with me, and everything will be fine again." Jeadite pleaded, and Nephlite could almost see the evil disappear from his eyes. He almost saw his old friend Jade, the one he had known since they were twelve years old. He almost gave in, just to satisfy those pleading eyes.  
  
"Jeadite, you know I can't do that. I love Makoto too much and I can't desert her." He said stubbornly.  
  
The softness in his eyes disappeared and was once again replaced with a look of evil. "You just had to pick the hard way, didn't you?" He asked sighing. "What is this whole thing with you and Kunzite dying for your loves anyway? It's so pathetically disgusting. They aren't even that good looking."  
  
Nephlite shook his head sadly. "You don't get it do you? It's not about what they look like, but about who they *are*. The reason that we fight so hard is them, the reason that we would lay down our lives in a moment is because of the way they smile when you tell them you love them." He looked down at the picture then back up at Jeadite. "If you don't have a reason to fight, then what's the point?"  
  
He sighed. "That was pathetic. I'm sorry Nephlite, but you leave me no other choice. Prepare yourself to fight."  
  
Nephlite's mind went into a panic. He couldn't fight Jeadite! Even though he might not be acting like it right now, deep down, he was still good old Jade. 'Besides the fact that Jade was stronger and more powerful than I was when he was good! I can only imagine what powers Beryl gave him!' He realized. Desperate to find a way out of this situation he started to beg and plead Jade not to do anything. "Jeadite, Jade, please, you don't want to do this."  
  
He sighed. "I'm sorry Neph, you leave me no other choice. I can't let my queen down."  
  
"What about your Prince? What about letting him down?" Nephlite cried.  
  
Jeadite laughed. "I no longer serve that idiot. I am working for a new ruler now, a much more powerful one."  
  
"Jade please, if I fight you, I'll be killed. Please, don't kill me."  
  
A clapping noise could be heard and another figure appeared next to Jeadite. "Well done Jeadite."  
  
He smiled and bowed. "Thank you My Queen. I only regret that I did not follow through the mission completely."  
  
Beryl nodded. "I know, but he is right. If you were to fight him, you would kill him." She turned to Nephlite and raised an eyebrow at him. "And if you were killed, who would serve as my fourth general?" She asked.  
  
He shrugged. "You know, I really don't give a damn, cause I'm not doing it, dead or alive."  
  
She smiled. "That's what you think." She snapped her fingers and two youma instantly appeared at his sides, binding his hands and ankles with tight rope.  
  
"You bitch!" He growled.  
  
She raised her eyebrow at him. "Oh I'm a bitch am I?" She asked in amusement. "Well I wonder what you'll think of me when I do this." She walked over to his dresser and picked up the frame that held the picture of his love.  
  
"No!" He yelled, struggling to free himself of the bonds, which only tightened with each struggle.  
  
Laughing, she slammed it onto the ground and he watched in horror as the frame broke into hundreds of tiny pieces. She then proceeded to lift the unharmed picture, and ripped it, bit by bit, obviously enjoying the pain he was expressing.  
  
"You demon! You won't get away with this!" He yelled.  
  
She smiled. "Oh but I already have."  
  
* * *  
  
Makoto looked up from the book she was reading as Minako came racing into her room, tears still running down her cheeks. "Minako, daijibou?" She exclaimed.  
  
"Kunzite's gone!" She cried.  
  
Makoto felt her heart drop down to her stomach. "He's gone?" she whispered.  
  
Minako nodded as she attempted to stop the tears that were falling. "I was sitting in my room and--"  
  
Her words were cut off as the windowpanes in Makoto's room burst, sending shards of glass everywhere. A green envelope drifted into the room, and was sealed with the planetary symbol for Jupiter.  
  
"My windows exploded and I go a letter, just like that one, that said that Kunzite was gone." Minako finished quietly.  
  
As the realization of her words sunk in, Makoto started to shake in fear. What if that envelope was telling her that Nephlite was gone too?  
  
Knowing that her friend was unable to read the letter, Minako leaned over and picked it up. Opening it, she silently read it and fresh tears started to fall from her eyes as she looked up at Makoto.  
  
Makoto looked at her questioningly, and she silently nodded her head. "NOOOOO!!!" She screamed in anguish before breaking down into sobs.  
  
Minako moved over and hugged the other girl, gently rocking her back and forth, trying to stop the river of tears that were flowing from both of their eyes.  
  
"He's gone?" Makoto choked out.  
  
Minako nodded. "I'm sorry, I know how you feel."  
  
"I'm sorry too I--" She stopped short as she saw the letter, which was on the floor behind Minako, and her eyes widened as she read the PS.  
  
Minako pulled away. "Makoto what's wrong? Why did you stop?"  
  
Makoto stared as if she had seen a ghost, and raised her hand to point to the letter, still lying on the floor.  
  
Minako gave her a strange look and picked it up. "Makoto, I know you're upset but--"  
  
"Read the PS." Makoto interrupted her.  
  
Minako looked down and silently read the last line. She here eyes widened and she looked up and Makoto and could see the fear that was reflected in both their eyes. "Oh fuck..."  
  
* * *  
  
Rei stood in front of the door, her hand on the knob, trying to decide whether or not she should go in. 'I have to do this sooner or later. Besides, it's either this, or Mom's room.' She quickly brushed that thought aside. She would work on that problem later, she was gonna deal with them one at a time. Taking one last deep breath, she swung open the door and walked into Jed's room. Everything was exactly the way that he had left it, just the way Serenity had promised. After Jed and Zoisite had been...captured...Queen Serenity had come to talk to Ami and her, promising that their rooms would be left untouched until the two returned. At the time, Rei had been so upset it didn't make much of a difference to her. Now, though, she was glad the Queen had been so thoughtful. 'She always has been.' She thought. She slowly walked around the room, looking over each thing, and with each object bringing back memories of Jed. The emotions were starting to get to her and she decided it was time to leave. As she was headed to the door she passed the closet, and something compelled her to stop and look in. 'This is insane.' She thought, but opened the door anyway. Inside she saw rows of neatly hung clothes, each one with his scent still on them. "See." Rei told herself out loud. "Nothing in here other than his clothes." She started to close the door and the feeling returned. 'Open the door again.' Her mind urged her. Once she did she still saw the same sights she had seen before. "Now what?" She asked. 'The floor.' Shaking her head in confusion, she sat down on the floor, and noticed that she was in front of a large black garbage bag. "I am not going through his old garbage." She said and started to get up. 'Just look!' The voice urged. She sighed and sat back down on the floor opening the bag. What she saw inside made her gasp and she closed the bag while she closed her eyes in surprise. "Oh my God he didn't..." She murmured. She slowly opened her eyes once again, and peered into the bag. Her face broke out into a smile. "I can't believe he kept them all these years!" She exclaimed opening the bag wider. Inside were numerous gifts, of all different sizes, wrapped in beautiful paper. Some were in Christmas paper, and others had Happy Birthday written on them. And one each gift was an envelope with a card, and on the envelope was written, 'To Rei, Love Always, Jed' and each had either Merry Christmas or Happy Birthday on them, along with the year. She smiled wistfully as she stared down at the gifts. "I can't believe he kept them after all these years!" She said. 'You did too. And besides, he promised.' The voice told her. That was true, she had kept the gifts for him during all the years he wasn't there also. She picked up the one that was dated the furthest back, and opened the card. The message was simple and to the point. It read:  
  
Dear Rei,  
  
Happy Birthday! I wish I could be there with you but I'm there in spirit. Always remember that you will always be my best friend and I will always be there with you, if in no other way, than at the very least, in your heart.  
  
Hope you have a wonderful day.  
  
Love Always,  
  
Jed  
  
She slowly smiled as she realized that he was right. Whether he was there or not he was still her best friend, and he would always be with her, in spirit, in mind, and most importantly, in her heart. She held the card to her heart as she gazed out the window. "Jed, wherever you are right now, thank you. You've always been the one person who could comfort me more than anyone. Thank you." She whispered. She gazed out the window for another minute before placing the card and gift back in the bag with the others and pushing it back into the closet. "We'll have to exchange all our gifts when you get back. And we will get you back." She said softly, with a newfound determination. A moment later the door slammed open and Rei stood up to see who was there.  
  
Serin burst into the room, out of breath, obviously from running. "There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" She cried.  
  
"Ren, what's wrong?" Rei asked when she noticed the panicked look in her friend's eyes.  
  
Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath. "She got them Rei. Nephlite and Kunzite are gone now too." She said with fear in her voice.  
  
Rei thought her heart would stop beating. "They're...gone?" She asked in a small voice.  
  
Serin nodded. "What are we going to do?"  
  
"I don't know." Rei said shaking her head. "How are Makoto and Minako doing? I assume they know?"  
  
"Not too good." She said, shaking her head. "But that's not even all of it. I have more bad news."  
  
"More?" She asked in shock. "What else could have possibly happened?"  
  
"Beryl just declared war on the moon."  
  
* * *  
  
End of Chapter 12  
  
Translations: daijibou = Are you all right, or, what's wrong?  
  
Thank you for reading, the next chapter is up for anyone who is checking the rewrite of this. Review please! 


	14. Chapter 13

Sorry this took so long, I had a burst or creativity on Ever Forever Ever, so I figured I should work on that while it lasted. It will be out one day, I promise.  
  
As for this, this chapter can get slightly confusing at certain points as to who is saying what. If you aren't sure of something, please visit: it's the same content, just color coded for convenience.  
  
Also, I attempted to replace Chapter 12 with a slightly modified version, and ff.net wouldn't let me for some reason. So thank you to all the reviewers from Chapter 11 that I never got to thank. Also, I changed the song that they dance to in Chapter 11, and the reasons for why that song is used will come in to play when I eventually rewrite Courage Under Fire.  
  
Thanks to all the reviews from the previous chapter!  
  
Missy: Yes I am trying to do this basically how it happened, but unfortunately, I don't remember the episode with any details of how the silver millennium ended, so things mite not quite fit with the original. The basic concept is the same though.  
  
Pyro*Chic: I'm not quite sure I understood your comment, but im assuming it was just the simple statement of it? Either way, thank you for still reading them! I promise one day I'll have new stuff that no one has read!  
  
Hello: I do have that website address for you actually, its simply, and for anyone else who is curious, it's a great archive of Senshi/Shitennou fanfics, and mine are posted there yes. The site seems to have been abandoned though, I'm not sure what happened there. But it still holds a fairly decent amount of wonderful fanfics. Another great place to try is www.shitennou.com and go through the forums.  
  
One last thing, I said before im a sucker for a happy ending, and that is true, except in the case of this story. This chapter is sad and I'm sorry to say does not have a happy ending, just a fair warning. Enjoy and please continue to review!  
  
Flashbacks that occur between Rei and Jed's final scene are marked off by ~~ at the beginning and at the end.  
  
******************************  
  
As the Tears Fell~Chapter Thirteen  
  
By MCRK  
  
****************************** "War?" Rei asked, making sure she had heard correct.  
  
Serin nodded her head, confirming the nightmare. "An attack is expected any moment, we're all supposed to head to the main conference room for instructions."  
  
She stood there for a moment, still in shock. 'This isn't happening. I must be dreaming.' She thought.  
  
Serin gently placed a hand on her arm, which snapped her out of her thoughts. "I know what you're thinking Rei, and I know how you feel, but it's true."  
  
She nodded, finally admitting the truth, it really was true, and the only thing they could do now was kick Beryl's ass. A sudden thought occurred to her. "She didn't get Endymion did she?" She asked, fearing the answer.  
  
Serin shook her head and Rei could see the relief that was clearly written on her face. "No, he's still safe. I think she moved all her troops off Earth actually. I guess she decided to send them here instead."  
  
Rei nodded. "She has what she wanted from them. She figures that without the generals on Earth, they're pretty much screwed anyway."  
  
She nodded quietly in agreement.  
  
Rei suddenly realized what Beryl was planning on doing. "Serin, don't you see what's she's doing?" She asked slowly, the entire plan forming in her head as perfectly as if she had thought of it herself.  
  
She gave her a confused look. "Rei what are you talking about?"  
  
"She started out small, just sending a few youma to try and scarce us, let us know that she was coming," Rei started as she paced the room, the thoughts coming so quickly she could barely get them out before more poured in. "Then she somehow convinced Zoisite to join her, because she knew not only would we lose him, but we would also lose Ami then because of that."  
  
"And then she crashed the ball, and told you the whole thing about your father, knowing that it would make you unable to use your fire," Serin filled in, starting to realize where Rei was going with this.  
  
"Right." She said. "Then she was able to get Jade, and that made us lose him, and me even more then before. Plus she must have known that at the very least, I would blame myself, and it would start to turn us against ourselves. At that point she most have decided she was strong enough to attack Earth, and while there, she was able to capture Nephlite and Kunzite who were most likely to stunned by seeing their former comrades turn against them, to fight properly."  
  
Serin appeared confused again. "But what does that have to do with us?"  
  
"Well now that she has them, she's ready to come here. She knows that there is no way any of us are going to be able to fight against the ones we love, and she knows that Endymion would die protecting you..." Her voice trailed off as her ultimate plan became clear. "Serin, what if we're next?" She asked quietly.  
  
Serin looked over at her first surprised that she would say that, and then fear slowly replaced the look of surprise as she realized how possible that statement was. "Come on." She said grabbing Rei's hand and dragging her out the door and started down the hall.  
  
"Ren, where are we going?" Rei asked as she freed her hand from Serin's tight grasp.  
  
"We have to go talk to my mom. Everyone's in the main conference room. Hurry, we may not have that much time left before she strikes again."  
  
* * *   
  
Beryl lounged in her throne, champagne in hand, legs crossed, with a pleased smile on her face. She sipped her drink before summoning her four generals.  
  
Four flashes appeared and four men stood in front of her, all with their heads bowed.  
  
"Rise." She said carelessly.  
  
"You called my Queen?" Kunzite asked once they had risen.  
  
Beryl uncrossed her legs and stood, looking over her generals. "It's time for you to learn your ranking in my army. You're positions, if you will."  
  
The four stood waiting.  
  
"Kunzite is the commanding general, the highest ranked, then Zoisite, Nephlite, and lastly Jeadite." She told them.  
  
"What is our first mission your highness?" Zoisite asked.  
  
"Now that we have declared war on the Moon," She started. "That is where we are headed. I want you four to take care of the Princess' guards, and I'll take care of the Prince and the Princess." She said, a smile creeping along her face.  
  
"Do we have specific assignments to each guardian?" Jeadite asked.  
  
A look came over Beryl's face before she replied. "Yes. Kunzite you will be fighting Princess Minako of Venus, Zoisite will fight Princess Ami of Mercury, Nephlite will fight Princess Makoto of Jupiter, and Jeadite will fight Princess Rei of Mars." She paused for a minute before adding. "And when I say fight, I mean to the complete death."  
  
"Your majesty, please excuse me for questioning your orders, but wouldn't it make more sense to switch the opponents of Jeadite and Zoisite?" Nephlite cut in.  
  
The Queen nodded in agreement. "I realize what you are saying and I took that into consideration when I made this assignments. But I do have special reasons for the way I assigned the guards to each one of you. In the long run, I assure you this will work better." She said giving a silent sigh of relief that no one had said anything about their positions as guards of Endymion's. After that whole thing between Jeadite still remembering some things, she had to make sure their brainwashing was complete enough for them to completely forget everything about their past lives.  
  
"Are we using swords, or powers?" Zoisite questioned.  
  
The Queen smiled. "Whatever kills them quicker."  
  
* * *   
  
"Now, does anyone have any suggestions about--"  
  
"WAIT!"  
  
Queen Serenity and the others looked towards the door as Serin and Rei ran into the room. "Serin, what's wrong?" She asked in concern.  
  
"Don't do anything yet, Rei figured out her plan." She explained.  
  
The others all turned to Rei waiting for her to continue. Looking around the room she noticed that Terra was sitting next to Ami and Minako. "Maybe Terra shouldn't be here." She said.  
  
Queen Serenity was about to nod to one of the servants to escort her back to her room when Terra spoke up. "No." She said firmly.  
  
"Terra, this isn't going to be the most pleasant, or the happiest conversation." Serin tried to explain.  
  
"I don't care." She said. "I know that Endymion sent me here to get away from the war, but now it's here, and I'm gonna be involved eventually no matter what. Besides, Jade, Nephlite, Kunzite, and Zoisite were as close as brothers to me. I want them back just as much as you guys do and I want to do whatever I can to help, and that includes knowing what's going on. I'm not leaving." She said quietly.  
  
Queen Serenity looked hesitant for a moment but turned to Rei and nodded for her to continue.  
  
She quickly repeated what she had just told Serin moments before, and everyone sat there for a few minutes in silence.  
  
"Rei, are you sure that this her plan?" Serenity asked.  
  
She shrugged. "No not really. But it's the most plausible thing that she could do. I mean, what does Beryl want more than anything?"  
  
"To rule the universe." Ami spoke up quietly.  
  
"Exactly, and who are the two most powerful planets in the solar system?" She pressed.  
  
"The moon and The Earth obviously." Minako stated.  
  
Rei nodded. "Making the King and Queen of each planet, and Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity the most powerful people in the solar system."  
  
"And since we were powerful and skilled enough to be their guardians, to protect them from any and all danger, then we must be right behind them in power..." Makoto slowly.  
  
"If not more because you guys control the elements, as do Endy's guards." Terra said softly.  
  
"And if she wants to rule the universe, what would be the best way to go about it?" Serenity asked.  
  
"To turn us against each other, and kill the rest of us, by using our own loves against us." Serin responded.  
  
"Yeah, but then why wouldn't she have taken Endymion? Or at least kept her troops on Earth until she killed him?" Makoto asked.  
  
"Think about it, if she has us fight Endy's guards, well," She paused for a moment, "We won't be around to much longer after that. And she knows Endymion will protect the princess with his life, but once he has his four guardians against him, that won't a problem for too long." Rei explained.  
  
"Oh come one, we're capable of beating Endy's guards! Just because they're evil now doesn't mean anything, we'll be able to defeat them, and turn them back to our side." Minako argued.  
  
Serin sadly shook her head and was about to respond when Ami cut in softly.  
  
"No we won't Minako. Don't you remember that first day at sparring? With the exception of Rei, we were all beaten by the generals."  
  
"She's right." Serin said. "They always beat us, and rather easily, but we never gave much thought to it, because as I said that day, we'd never have to worry about it, because we'd always be fighting on the same side, and as long as that was true, we were unbeatable."  
  
"But now we aren't on the same side anymore." Rei said quietly.  
  
"And now they're evil, meaning that they don't remember the love that they had for any of you." Terra pointed out.  
  
"Meaning that they aren't going to care what they do to us." Makoto grimaced.  
  
"If I know anything about Beryl, it's that she is not going to take any chances with this. I wouldn't be surprised if she brainwashed specifically to harm each one of you." Serenity commented.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Serin asked in a whisper.  
  
Terra jumped out of her chair as an idea popped into her head. "Serin!" She said excitedly running up to the older girl.  
  
"What is it Terra? Do you have a plan?" She asked.  
  
"You can use the crystal!" The little girl exclaimed, delighted that she was able to help.  
  
Serin turned to her mother in worry. "Do you think the crystal is strong enough to defeat Beryl and unbrainwash the others?"  
  
Serenity let out the breath she had been holding as she shook her head. "I really don't know. I was never really told how much power it contained." She admitted.  
  
"Which means that our main mission during the attack will be keeping the Princess safe, otherwise we are screwed." Makoto said.  
  
Rei nodded. "We gotta make a pact guys. We have to promise that if it comes to it, we won't hesitate to kill the guardians. If and only if our lives or the princess' is in danger."  
  
Ami immediately shook her head. "Rei, I don't know if I'll be able to do that. Especially if it's only my life that's in danger. I would rather die than live without Zoisite anyway."  
  
The others nodded their agreement.  
  
She swallowed hard. 'How am I going to explain this to them?' She wondered. She did know how they felt; she didn't want to be unsympathetic. Truthfully, she felt the same way. 'But duty comes before Love, just like Minako's always taught us.' She reminded herself. "Guys, I know how you feel, and I know you don't want to, but think about it. If we are killed, who is going to protect the princess? Endymion can only protect her so much. Our job comes first! We have a duty to protect Serin, to protect the one person who might be able to save the universe. Emotions and feelings have to be pushed aside, we're in war now and we can't take and risks. Right now, the generals aren't thinking right and they will kill any of us without a second thought. We can not let it come to that!" Rei exclaimed slamming her hand on the table for emphasis.  
  
Minako slowly nodded her head in agreement, realizing Rei's point. "Rei's right you guys. As much as we don't want to, we aren't going to have much choice in this. I don't want to have to kill them any more than you guys do, but we have to protect the Princess. That's our job, that's our destiny, and if we die, or if our loves die while doing our job, then so be it."  
  
"Minako, if it's our destiny to be killed by our loves while protecting our princess, then there isn't anything we can do about it. We're pretty screwed then." Makoto pointed out gently.  
  
"Maybe it is our fate to die protecting the princess, and maybe it's our destiny, but only if we let it be! If we sit here and let this war happen to us, and let the people we love be brainwashed to try and kill us, *then* we're screwed. If we go out there, knowing that we can't be beat, then we won't be! You have to believe that we can make our own destiny!" Minako said passionately.  
  
Ami shook her head. "You can't fight destiny, it happens whether you want it to or not."  
  
"You can't fight it?" Minako asked. "Well I'm sure as hell gonna do my best to fight it."  
  
"Minako, just face it, it's hopeless." Serin sighed. "Whatever happens, happens."  
  
Minako and Rei exchanged worried glances. Even Serin was giving up.  
  
"Well if that's how you feel that why even bother fighting?" Rei asked shrugging.  
  
Minako shot her a desperate look and she replied with one saying to go along with it.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Serin asked in alarm. "We can't not fight."  
  
"Well if we are just going to die anyway," Minako said, joining in on the plan. "Then why even bother?"  
  
"Because it's our job! We have to protect the princess no matter what..." Makoto's voice trailed off as she realized what she had just said.  
  
Ami gave a smile. "Reverse psychology. Nice technique." She commented. Her smile disappeared. "But I'm still unsure about this whole killing them idea."  
  
"I know." Rei said. "And I know how you all feel, and I know how much you all love them. So think about it like that." She suggested.  
  
Minako threw her a confused look. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"What's the reason that you get up every day? The reason that you fight so hard to keep the universe free? The reason that you have for living, even when you feel like dying? The reason is *them*." She pressed. "They mean everything to you, but think about the pain you are going through because Beryl brainwashed them. Would you really want others to have to go through that?" Rei asked.  
  
"How are others going to go through this?" Terra asked.  
  
"If we don't stop her, she's going to continue to do this. How many people has she kidnapped already and turned into youma? Hundreds too many. There are so many people out there who have already lost their loved ones, we shouldn't make it any greater then it has to be because of our own selfishness. Freedom has its cost." She said softly.  
  
The room was deadly silent for a full minute before Serin spoke. "She's got a point guys. Anyone else who agrees that this is what we should do, stand up." She said as she moved out of her chair.  
  
Terra was the first of the others to stand, quickly followed by Minako, and even Queen Serenity was standing. Makoto and Ami sat fidgeting trying to decide what to do.  
  
"They all mean as much to me as they do to you guys. But we can't get them back without your help, please?" Terra asked softly.  
  
Makoto looked at the young girl's face and felt all her emotions wash away. 'This isn't a time to be selfish.' She thought standing up.  
  
Ami gave a deep sigh before slowly standing up. "Can't let you guys have all the fun now can I?" She asked.  
  
The others smiled and cheered.  
  
"All right, here's what's gonna happen..."  
  
* * *   
  
Rei silently walked the familiar path to the garden where she had visited so many times. 'This is where I last talked to Jed.' She realized on a sad note, but as the memories of Jed started to flow back to her, although allowing them to come freely, she refused to let more tears fall. She folded her arms in front of her and sighed softly. "I miss him..." She whispered, reaching down to pluck a small violet flower from the garden. A small smile crept across her lips as a game she had done when she was younger came into her mind. She quickly strode over to the bench a few feet away and sat down, staring at the flower in her hand. She pulled off a petal watched as it gracefully fluttered to the ground. 'He loves me...' She thought. She repeated the process. 'He loves me not...' The smile grew wider at the immature game she was playing. She continued plucking petals however, softly repeating the rhyme over and over. "He loves me...he loves me not...he loves me...he loves me not...he loves me...he loves me not...he- -" Her breath caught in her throat as she stared down at the petal and realized which half of the rhyme she was up to.  
  
There was one petal left.  
  
"He loves me..." She whispered pulling the last petal and letting it die a slow graceful death as it fluttered to the ground. After a minute of complete silence she started giggling. 'That was insane!' She thought. 'Jed isn't even here any more, and he doesn't love me.' Before the tears that were sure to fall came, her mind quickly added. 'Besides, even if he does, he'll be able to tell me once we get him back, not some silly flower.' She glanced down at the flower that lay dead at her feet, petals flown all over, and she suppressed a laugh. 'It was fun though.' She mused.  
  
"My my, Princess Mars you have quite a likeness for killing things don't you?"  
  
She slowly turned around, already knowing who had spoken, and dreading the conversation that was coming next.  
  
"Surprise!" Beryl said smiling, when Rei finally came face to face with her.  
  
"That was no surprise." She said bitterly.  
  
She frowned. "Well I'll just have to try harder next time won't?"  
  
"Hopefully there won't be a next time." Rei muttered.  
  
"What was that dear? I couldn't quite hear you?" Beryl said innocently.  
  
Rei glared up at her. "Look, let's just get this over with. What do you want now?"  
  
"Well first, I might as well offer you the chance," She paused for a minute.  
  
"If this has anything to do with helping you then the answer is no." Rei said flatly.  
  
"Oh really?" Beryl asked raising an eyebrow at her as an evil smile crossed her face. She had just come up with the ultimate plan. Mars was a powerful scout and her passion for fighting added to her power. Beryl had just realized the perfect way to get her to join the Negaverse. "Not even if it was to save your friend, Jeadite?"  
  
* * *   
  
"I wish Endymion would beat Beryl already." Terra said sighing as her and Serin walked the palace halls.  
  
"Am I that bad of a hostess that you want to go home already?" Serin asked joking.  
  
Terra shook her head fiercely. "Of course not, you're an awesome hostess, and the moon is the coolest place! Much cooler then anywhere on Earth. It's just that," She paused for a minute. "Never mind, I don't want to sound like a baby or anything." She quickly added.  
  
"No way!" Serin exclaimed. "You can't start a sentence and not finish it!" She stopped moving. "I'm gonna stand right here until you tell me what's wrong."  
  
Terra smiled and shook her head as she stopped walking. "It's not that big of a deal!" She said.  
  
Serin said nothing but stood there smiling at the smaller girl.  
  
She sighed. "Okay, it's just that I miss Endymion and the others, and I miss my parents. I mean don't get me wrong, I love the moon, and you and the other princesses are really nice to me and it's lots of fun and everything, but."  
  
"But it's not home." Serin said gently interrupting.  
  
Terra looked up in surprise. "How did you know that?'  
  
Smiling, Serin knelt down to eye level with the girl. "Everyone gets homesick sometimes. I may not be the best person to talk to about it because I live on the moon, but what about the others? They are all from different planet, just like you and they all get homesick from time to time." She explained.  
  
"Yeah that's true. I just hope the war is over soon." Terra said.  
  
"Same here. I'm not too big a fan of wars." Serin agreed. She was about to continue when a flash of pain ran through her. She gasped.  
  
"What's wrong?" Terra asked in immediate concern.  
  
Serin didn't respond for a moment, as she herself tried to figure out what exactly was wrong. 'I don't think its Endymion, something must be wrong with Rei.' The thought had barely entered her brain when she felt the familiar pull towards the garden. "Come on." She said jumping up and grabbing Terra's hand as they raced down the long hallways.  
  
"What happened? Where are we going?" Terra asked, desperately trying to keep up.  
  
"We gotta find Rei. Something's wrong."  
  
* * *   
  
Rei felt her resolve and anger wash away, replaced by hope. "You would let Jed come back?" She asked, her eyes shining.  
  
"I'm a reasonable person...of course I would let him come back," She said shrugging casually.  
  
It was all Rei could do not to scream in excitement. 'Jed's coming back!' She thought.  
  
But Beryl wouldn't be a villain if there weren't a catch.  
  
"That is, if you are willing to take his place." She added calmly.  
  
Rei's eyes widened as she realized what her choice was and what Beryl was saying. "If I take his place?" She whispered.  
  
Beryl nodded as she picked a small flower, the same kind that Rei had picked earlier. "A general of Earth is a valuable warrior, but the fiery Princess of Mars, a far better choice, don't you agree?" She asked.  
  
Rei was mute as her mind raced different views and opinions were flying through her head confusing her even more. 'I have to do this! I have to try and save him, I love him, how can I not do everything in my power to get him back?' One voice told her. 'You can't!' The other screamed. 'What about the Princess?' She shook her head free of the voices as one won out over the other.  
  
"Have you made a decision?" Beryl asked, eagerly anticipating the answer.  
  
Rei nodded. "I've decided, but first promise me that if I join you, you won't hurt Serin or my friends? And that you'll let Jed go?"  
  
"Of course. Whatever you wish dear." Beryl said sweetly, crossing her fingers behind her back. "So have you decided?"  
  
"Rei wait!"  
  
Rei and Beryl both turned to the path in surprise, as Serin and Terra came running up.  
  
"Don't do it Rei." Terra pleaded as the two princesses reached the other two.  
  
"Stay out of this, it's her decision." Beryl snapped.  
  
Rei looked back and forth between her friends and her enemy. "Serin, don't you see, I have to do this!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Rei, I'm begging you, please don't do this!" Serin begged.  
  
"Princess Rei." Beryl called.  
  
Rei turned to look at her and was immediately entranced by the look in her eyes.  
  
"Rei, you want to save Jeadite don't you?" Beryl asked in a soothing tone.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"All you have to do, is come join the Negaverse, and he'll be free to come back. Besides we aren't that bad, it's Queen Serenity that's been putting all these ideas in your head." She said gently.  
  
Rei nodded again. "All bad ideas." She said in a trance like state.  
  
Beryl threw a triumphant look at the two princesses. "Ha! See, she's ready to join the Negaverse."  
  
"Not if I have a say in it." Serin muttered. She ran over to Rei, who was still in a trance, and started violently shaking her shoulders. "Snap out of it!" She exclaimed.  
  
After a minute Rei shook her head and pulled free from Serin's embrace. "Umm okay Serin thanks." She said in confusion.  
  
Serin threw her own triumphant glance at Beryl. "Sorry but I had to snap you out of it. You were ready to join the Negaverse!" She said, smiling happily, now that Rei was out of the trance, she would come to her senses.  
  
"Serin you don't get it do you?" Rei asked. "That had nothing to do with the trance, I'm still ready to join the Negaverse." She said softly.  
  
Serin's face fell as Beryl's brightened in a smile once again.  
  
"Rei are you insane? You can't do this!" Terra pleaded.  
  
"I have to! She has Jed, and if I go, she'll let him free." She admitted softly.  
  
Serin looked deep into her friend's eyes and realized that she was dead serious. "Rei you can't believe that! This is Beryl we are talking about! The person who took Nephlite, Kunzite, Zoisite, and Jeadite. She's the one who took Jade from you in the first place, why would she give him back?" She exclaimed.  
  
"Hush child!" Beryl snarled as she shot her hand out against Serin's head, sending her flying to the ground.  
  
Terra quickly raced over and helped a now unconscious Serin. "Rei, look what she did to Serin, she isn't going to keep her promises." She said, knowing that was her last chance to keep Rei on their side.  
  
Rei looked over at Serin, then back at Beryl. "You hurt Serin." She whispered. "You promised you wouldn't, and you broke your promise.LIAR!" She screamed.  
  
"Rei, please, I only did it because they were trying to confuse you into thinking I was the evil person here when obviously it's the Queen." Beryl said nervously, backing up as Rei slowly advanced towards her.  
  
"Queen Serenity isn't evil, you are the evil one. You're an evil wench!" Rei exclaimed. Reaching out into the air, her wand came flying into her hand. She thrust her hand in the air and shouted, "MARS STAR POWER!"  
  
Helpless and fearful, Beryl stood watching as fire encircled the girl, until the powerful Sailor Mars stood before her.  
  
"Now, about you breaking your promise." Mars fiercely, a new fire in her eyes and soul, as she clasped her hands together and began her attack. "Mars.Fire.IGNITE!" She opened her eyes to see if her attack had reached her target.  
  
"Over here." The voice called.  
  
She whirled around to see Beryl standing behind her, a faint smile traced on her lips. "Its called transportation." She said, in such a tone that if one didn't know better, they would think Beryl was talking to a five-year- old.  
  
Her infuriation growing by the minute, Mars clasped her hands together again, this time her eyes dark with anger. She started the attack. "Mars.Celestial." But before she was able to finish Beryl lifted herself off the ground, hovering above the three princesses.  
  
"I'm sorry I won't be able to stay and finish this little.game of pretend." She said in mock sorrow. "But I really must be getting back. I assure you we will finish this later Princess Rei. Until then." With that said, she disappeared.  
  
Mars cursed under her breath, directed at the spot Beryl had just occupied, which was already looking as if no one had been there, before detransforming and running over to see how Serin was doing. "How is she Terra?" She asked in worry.  
  
She looked down at Serin, then back up at Rei. "Not too good I'm afraid. She's still knocked out. I've been trying to wake her, but it's not working. Do you think she's going to be okay?"  
  
Rei looked down at the little girl, and noticed the pure fear in her eyes. She also noticed that the innocent look that was usually there was replaced by one of maturity and understanding. And at that moment, even if only for a second, Rei knew she wasn't so little anymore. "I think she'll be okay. It's just like if she fainted, she'll come to in a few minutes. But just to be safe, we should get Ami to take a look at her."  
  
Terra agreed and helped Rei lift her into her arms as the two headed towards the palace.  
  
* * *   
  
"What the hell happened?!" Minako exclaimed as she paced Serin's bedroom floor.  
  
"It was my fault, Beryl was there, and it was my fault." Rei said quietly, not caring to elaborate at that moment.  
  
"Don't be mad, it wasn't her fault." Terra broke in.  
  
Rei and Terra had carried Serin back to her room in the palace and had immediately called Ami, who had quickly called the others, along with the cats. They reached the room at the same time, and burst in, wanting to know what had happened to Serin.  
  
"We aren't worried about whose fault it was, but what happened?" Makoto pressed.  
  
"I was in the garden," Rei started. "Just walking around, when Beryl showed up. I figured the least I could do was attempt to be civil, and not just attack right away. So we talked for a few minutes, and I asked her what she wanted that time. And she told me that she wanted to offer me a chance," She paused for a minute.  
  
"A chance for what?" Artemis asked.  
  
"A chance to save Jed."  
  
There was silence in the room for a minute until the others managed to find their voices again.  
  
"She was going to allow you to save Jade?" Makoto asked, hoping that her face wasn't so revealing that it showed she was somewhat jealous that she hadn't been offered the chance to save her love.  
  
Rei nodded.  
  
"Wait, there had to have been some kind of catch," Minako said suspiciously.  
  
"There was. She would allow Jed to come back, if I took his place." She said softly.  
  
"You were going to weren't you?"  
  
The others turned to Ami, who until now had been silent, working on Serin, who had a serious look on her face. "You were weren't you?" She asked again.  
  
Rei looked her in the eye, ignoring the gaping looks of the others and nodded. "I had too." She tried explaining, turning to the others once again. "I couldn't not do everything I could to save him."  
  
"So how did Serin get hurt, and how did you not end up going with her?" Luna asked curiously.  
  
"That was the point that me and Serin came up to stop Rei from going." Terra spoke up. "Serin knew that Rei was in trouble because of the connection the two of them have. She was able to sense the danger that Rei was in, and we ran to save her."  
  
Rei nodded. "And right before they came, I had made Beryl promise that if I joined her, that she wouldn't hurt you guys, or Serin, and that she would let Jed free."  
  
"Did she agree?" Minako asked.  
  
"Yes. And I had decided that I had to go. I had to do everything in my power to save him. But then, thank God, Serin and Terra showed up telling me not to go." She stopped to throw a grateful look at girl sitting next to her. "And Beryl argued with them for a few minutes, as they argued with me, both trying to convince me that they were right, they were the good side, and the other was wrong. Eventually Beryl got annoyed at Serin, who kept trying to convince me she was wrong, and she lashed out at her, knocking her to the ground, and she became in the state she is now." Rei explained.  
  
"So why didn't you go with Beryl anyway?" Artemis asked.  
  
"Well then Terra had good enough sense to show me that Beryl had already broken a promise. She had promised that she wouldn't hurt Serin, and yet, there was Serin, lying on the ground unconscious, because of her. So who was to say she wouldn't break other promises? I started to realize at that point what I was doing, and I tried to attack. She transported away before I got a chance."  
  
"And then you brought Serin here and called Ami, who called the rest of us." Makoto said.  
  
"Who is going to be just fine, she should be waking up in a few minutes." Ami said.  
  
As if to prove her point, Serin's eyes fluttered open a minute later.  
  
The group ran over to her, with the exception of Rei, who hung back for a moment.  
  
"How are you feeling Serin?" Luna asked.  
  
"Are you okay?" Minako asked, clearly worried about her princess.  
  
Serin moved to sit up, holding her throbbing head. "My head is killing me, but other than that, yeah I'm fine." She said managing a faint smile. She looked around and when she didn't see Rei amongst the others, her smile disappeared. "Where's Rei?" She asked.  
  
"I'm here Serin." She stepped out from behind the others so she was visible to the Princess lying in the bed. She gave a small smile. Serin breathed a sigh of obvious relief when she saw Rei. "I thought you would have." She let her voice trail off, unsure of whether or not the others knew what had happened.  
  
"Iie."  
  
Serin waved her hand at the others. "Do they."  
  
"Know? Yes I told them already what happened." Rei responded, still rooted to the spot she was standing in.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why what?" She asked in confusion.  
  
"Why didn't you go with Beryl than? How come you didn't try to save Jade?" She asked looking down at her hands, which she had placed in her lap.  
  
"Because, no matter how much he means to me." Rei started slowly. "No one could ever mean more to me than you." She turned to the others before continuing. "Could you guys leave us alone for a few minutes, I need to talk to Serin."  
  
The others all nodded and quickly left the room.  
  
"What made you change your mind?"  
  
Rei turned back to Serin, who was still sitting on the bed. "Well after she hit you, Terra made me see that Beryl was the one that had hurt you, after she had promised me that she wouldn't hurt you. And thankfully, Terra was able to convince me that if she had broken that promise, what was to say she wouldn't break her other promises also." She explained. "By the way," She added. "Arigato."  
  
"For what?" Serin asked.  
  
She shrugged. "For being there and for stopping me."  
  
"I'm just glad you didn't go." Serin said smiling.  
  
Rei smiled back. "Yeah me too."  
  
* * *   
  
Ami sighed in exhaustion as gazed at her surroundings. The consequences of war were definitely starting to take effect on her and the others. Ever since Beryl had declared war on the moon two days ago, the attacks had almost been nonstop. And her, seeing as she was one of the protectors of the Princess and of the moon, was needed for all of these attacks. Which meant that she got little to none sleep and that was not a good way to fight. She heard a noise behind her and before they could attack, she whipped around, sword already in hand, plunging it deep into the creature's heart. That is, where there heart would be if they had one. The youma didn't even have time to scream as it collapsed to the ground, dead. Ami yanked her sword back and continued walked. That was another change. Because of their lack of sleep, the scouts were unable to pull of as many attacks as usual; it took all their energy to pull of even the smallest one. So they were instructed not to use magic unless absolutely necessary, and were forced to use swords as their weapons instead. 'It's times like this that make me wish we had done more practice with the swords instead of our powers.' Ami thought wistfully as she killed another youma. 'I wonder how many innocent people Beryl trapped and forced into this job.' She thought. Looking around the field, she guessed hundreds of thousands. 'I wonder how many of them I killed.' She thought shuddering. That was a number she didn't care to know. 'This isn't a time to feel guilty.' She scolded herself. 'I've got to keep going, keep fighting through it. It will all be over soon and then we can get Zoi and the others back.' The thought of her love brought a small smile to her face and gave her the strength she needed to carry on. She heard a shrill scream behind her and the smile disappeared. She knew that only humans made that sound, and another innocent soldier had been killed. This was going to be a long fight.  
  
* * *   
  
Makoto paused for a minute to wipe the sweat that was dripping from her forehead. "Who ever thought it would be so hot in these uniforms." She muttered to herself. Then again, it could have just been the fact that she had been walking in the burning sun all day. 'I would love to be swimming right now.' She thought sighing as she trudged her way along. 'Actually, I would rather be almost anywhere other than here.especially if that anywhere was in Nephlite's arms.' She shook her head, forcing herself to keep her mind clear, as she continued walking through what had quickly become the valley of death. She quickly sliced her sword through a youma that had unsuccessfully attempted to attack her. She sighed. She didn't get it. 'We've killed hundreds of youma, and Beryl has only killed half that number of our army. Obviously we are winning, so why doesn't she just give up?' She wondered. 'I guess it's just the glimmer of hope that is always there about things you know can never happen.' She thought, answering her own question. 'Kinda like the glimmer of hope that I have that Nephlite is going to come running about that hill, perfectly fine, holding his arms out to me. But I know it isn't going to happen. Not now anyway.' Not wanting to think depressing thoughts about Nephlite, she wearily looked around the battlefield, which had fallen unusually quiet. She wasn't going to question it however; she was too tired to fight. She groaned inwardly as she saw a small group of youma coming up the hill, and starting to run when they saw her. 'I guess I spoke to soon.' She thought as she moved into battle stance. This was going to be a long war.  
  
* * *   
  
Minako quietly walked amongst the dead bodies, trying not to notice them, as she scanned the area for Makoto and Ami. Not seeing them, she crept on, trying to stay low and not be seen. Her and Rei had been fighting on the other side of the palace, and they hadn't been doing too good. When there was a lull in the battle Minako had set off on her current search of finding Makoto and Ami for help. The search was not working too well so far though. A shrill scream of horror and fear broke her out of her thoughts and Minako rushed over to see what was wrong. She crept up behind the hill, trying not to be seen, but also trying to make sure that she could see what was going on. A soldier, wearing the colors and symbols of the Negaverse, was standing there laughing hysterically as he tortured someone. Shifting her position slightly, Minako got a better view and was able to see that the victim was a civilian of the moon, who looked no older than her earlier thirties. She watched helplessly as the soldier took out his sword and with the flick of his wrist, cut off her head. The cries that she had heard only moments before had now turned into hysterical sobs and Minako turned her head towards the noise to see who was there. Two young girls, one a few years older than the other, sat a few feet away from the soldier. The younger girl was sobbing uncontrollably and Minako could see tears stream down the face of the older girl as she attempted to comfort what seemed to be her sister.  
  
"Shhhh.it's okay, don't cry." The older one said gently, rocking the younger girl in her arms.  
  
The girl however continued to cry.  
  
"Don't think about it." She soothed. "Mommy's in a better place now. A place where no one will ever hurt her again."  
  
Minako resisted the urge to throw up as she watched the two girls. They had witnessed something that no one should ever have to see, and Minako was sure that they would be traumatized for the rest of their lives. 'However long that may be.' She realized as she saw the soldier grinning as he advanced on the unsuspecting girls. Quietly as possible she ran down the small hill and went behind the soldier. Before he could detect her presence, she plunged her sword into his back, and he fell to the ground, never even screaming. After making sure that he was dead, she removed her sword and walked over to the two girls, both of who were still crying. "I'm so sorry for your loss." She said gently.  
  
The two ignored her. "I want mommy back!" The younger girl sobbed.  
  
"I know. But mommy is in a happier place now. No more worries." Her sister said soothingly.  
  
"Is she with daddy?" The younger girl asked her crying ceasing for the moment.  
  
The older girl nodded.  
  
"That's good I guess then. I don't want either of them to have to be alone anymore." She said softly.  
  
Minako felt her heart breaking at the sight before her. She had never really paid attention to how the war affected everyone else on the moon. Now, however, she was realizing it by learning the hard way just how horrible war was. Deciding she should leave them alone to grieve with a little privacy, she went back off on her search for the others. She was finally starting to realize that war affected everyone, and everyone who was affected, was affected for life. Whether the war ended eventually or not, the memories would haunt you for the rest of your life.  
  
* * *   
  
Through most of her life, starting around the age of five, the time when her daily lessens first started, Rei was taught one thing about war. That it was total and complete hell. Now that she was living the experiences of war first hand, she was beginning to see that war was worse than hell. Even burning eternally had to be better than what they were currently going through. She shuddered at the though of eternally burning, she was too close to having an image of her father in that situation. Thanks to Beryl, she was almost afraid to use her fire and was actually thankful that they were almost forbidden to use their powers. It made things much easier for her. 'Then again, if it weren't for Beryl, things would be completely different right now. The others would still be here.' She thought. 'And you would have been able to tell Jed that you love him.' Her heart silently added. She shook her head, chastising her self. 'This isn't the time to regret what you didn't tell him Rei!' She peered out from her hiding place to glance up at the palace and say a quick prayer the Serin was safe. Beryl's armies had left Earth moments after she declared war on the moon, so when Endymion heard about her new declaration of war, he had transported to the palace as soon as possible. Rei knew that as long as he was there, Serin was safe and that he would protect her with his life. She was just hoping it wouldn't have to come to that. She ducked back into hiding as she saw two Negaverse guards pass by. Thankfully they didn't notice her. 'Where is Minako with the others?' She thought desperately. She heard a pair of footsteps behind her and she whirled around, sword in hand, ready to attack if necessary.  
  
"Don't swing!" Came the frightened voice from behind the pair of hands.  
  
Rei sighed, immediately recognizing the voice as Minako's. "Minako! Don't you know any better than to sneak up on someone during war?" She scolded.  
  
Minako smiled. "Whatever. Look I found reinforcements!" She said, pointing to the two scouts behind her.  
  
Rei's face softened when she saw the others. "Thank God you guys are okay!" She exclaimed. "When Minako took so long finding you I started to think the worst."  
  
Ami smiled reassuringly. "We're okay Rei, it just took us a while to get back."  
  
Makoto nodded in agreement before anxiously asking, "Do you know how Serin is?"  
  
The smile vanished from Rei's face as she gave a troubled look towards the palace once more. "I'm not sure. I know Endymion's there but." She let her voice trail off, not wanting to say what they were all thinking, for fear that it could come true.  
  
"But if something happened to her, you would feel it, right?" Minako asked worriedly.  
  
Rei gave a sigh of relief as she remembered that. "Yeah I forgot about that. Well I haven't felt her pain or anything like that, so as far as I know, she's okay."  
  
The others breathed obvious sighs of relief. "That's good to know." Makoto said.  
  
Ami nodded. "Just asking, what are we doing hiding out in here? Shouldn't we be out fighting?" She asked.  
  
Minako nodded as she gripped her hand in her sword.  
  
"Sorry, that's my fault." Rei apologized. "I couldn't keep up with them by myself, so first chance I could, I ducked in here to hide out while I waited for you guys."  
  
"Well that's understandable. But now that we are all here, let's go kick some Negaverse ass!" Makoto exclaimed as she ran outside, the others behind her. A small group of youma quickly attacked them, which they vanquished easily.  
  
"This is too easy." Minako observed. "They should be getting harder to kill, not easier."  
  
"Maybe we are just wearing down her defenses. She may not have many strong youma left." Ami suggested.  
  
"Who cares? Don't jinx it know." Makoto said. The four continued walking, killing a youma here and there, but for the main time, walking in silence.  
  
After what felt like hours, they saw four figures walking in the distance.  
  
Squinting, Rei attempted to see what side they were on. "Uh oh you guys, this doesn't look good."  
  
Makoto groaned. "I don't want to fight anymore!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Well maybe they will be on our side." Minako suggested, trying to keep a positive outlook on things.  
  
The others all gave her doubtful looks.  
  
She gave a small smile.  
  
Ami already had her visor on and her computer out, trying to at least see what side the soldiers were on. Typing away for a few minutes, the soldiers got closer and closer. "Well they are definitely not on our side, that is one thing for sure, and give me a minute," She paused for a minute before gasping. "You guys are never going to believe who the soldiers are." She whispered.  
  
Makoto suddenly felt a tug on her heart and butterflies started flying around in her stomach. There was only one person in the world that made her feel like that. "Nephlite." She whispered through a choked voice.  
  
"And Kunzite." Minako said flatly, no emotion in her voice.  
  
"Jed."  
  
"And Zoisite." Ami concluded, closing her computer with a snap and putting away her visor. "Everyone.remember this isn't the people that we love, she's changed them."  
  
"Oh God, what did she do to them?" Rei whispered in horror as they neared. Staring mainly at Jed, she noticed that his normally bright blue eyes had turned midnight blue, almost black. And the amount of evil energy she was receiving from them was unbelievable! She shivered, despite the warm sun beating down on her.  
  
Makoto stared at the person that was once her love as he neared closer and closer. "She turned them against us." She said softly. She knew, that even if she lived to be one thousand years old, she would never, never forgive Beryl for doing this to them. "Nephlite." She whispered, letting the name roll off her tongue into the hot stale air.  
  
"Come on guys." Minako said unsheathing her sword. "We came out here to fight and we aren't going without one." The others saw right through her, and they knew she was hurting just as much as they were.  
  
"It's now or never." Ami said as she stared at the person nearing towards her. The person that looked very much like her love, but was really just an empty body, a tool for an evil spirit. And that was not the person that Ami had fallen in love with. And now was the time to get the real Zoisite back.  
  
It seemed to the four scouts that the entire world had fallen silent, almost as if they knew that this was the start of something big. This was the point where either the moon won the battle, or they lost it. Even if the generals didn't kill them, the silence was starting to.  
  
Rei watched as they neared closer and closer, swords in hand, and listened as each footstep sounded like thunder echoing through the field.  
  
::Step::  
  
*Boom*  
  
::Step::  
  
*Boom*  
  
::Step::  
  
*Boom*  
  
::Step::  
  
*Boom*  
  
After what felt like eternity, the generals stopped, now only a few feet in front of the women that they once loved, no sign of emotion on their face.  
  
There was silence for a few two minutes, the pairs simply staring at each other. Each woman with love, each man with hate.  
  
* * *   
  
Makoto stared willingly at Nephlite. What she wouldn't give to run into his arms and hear him say how much he loved her. 'I miss you Nephlite.'  
  
* * *   
  
Nephlite stared at the woman in front of him. Her long brown hair and her emerald eyes tugged at his brain, and his heart. As if he should know her.he shook his head as he looked away, that was ridiculous. And yet, he glanced at her one more time.there was something about those eyes.  
  
* * *   
  
Ami forced her gaze to land anywhere but at the man who stood across from her, his eyes boring into her face. She refused to look at him, she refused to let herself break down again in front of everyone. Especially because it was the loss of someone who wasn't really there, it was just a face, not really him. As long as she followed her brain, and not her heart, she would be fine. 'Hey, it's always worked before? Why stop now.' She thought even though deep down, she knew that this time, it was different.  
  
* * *   
  
Zoisite stared at the woman in front of him. She was small and frail and he wondered how she was still alive, she didn't look like she could last through an attack with a youma. He silently gave an evil laugh. Beryl had assigned the scout of water, Mercury, which was obviously the woman in front of him, to kill. This was going to be fun.  
  
* * *   
  
Minako glanced nervously back and forth between the man in front of her, Kunzite, and the brightly shining engagement ring on her finger. Her mind replayed the scene when the two of them had kissed for the first time, and the time when he proposed to her. He had promised that he would come back as long as she was there waiting. 'Well I'm waiting Kunz. Where are you?'  
  
* * *   
  
Kunzite stared at the girl in front of him, his assigned partner in the spar to their death. Well, her death anyway. A small smile crept upon his face as he thought of the different ways he could kill her while she begged for mercy. He was going to enjoy this. So why.why was there a small nagging at his brain that wouldn't go away? Why was there a small voice telling him that he didn't want to do this? He shrugged if off, assuming it was nerves about his first assignment as Captain of Beryl's guards. But that voice seemed to return, and return, and return, and return.  
  
* * *   
  
Rei stared with sorrow filled eyes at the man she once knew. The man who had once been her best friend, the love of her life. But he was gone now, replaced by someone evil, something that was not capable of love, emotion, or anything of the sort. 'I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to show him how much I love him?' She thought as she felt her heart break in two at the thought of not being able to. One thought ran through her mind over and over again. Beryl will pay.  
  
* * *   
  
Jeadite glanced nervously at the girl in front of him. Even though he should have been the one staring her down in fear, she was intimidating him for some reason. Maybe it was her huge violet colored eyes that seemed to be windows into her soul. He looked into them once, for only a second, and he felt like he knew everything about her, like he knew everything that there was to her, every little thing that made her who she was. He felt like he knew what made her afraid, and it made him feel like he wanted to comfort her. To hold her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right. And it scared him. He tried to shake the feeling off. This wasn't the time, he wasn't supposed to be falling in love with the enemy.  
  
* * *   
  
The four stared each other down until Kunzite finally took the initiative to speak. "Prepare yourself guardians, it's time to die." He said smirking at them.  
  
Minako found herself growling at him in anger, her previous feelings forgotten. "Maybe it's time for you to die, but it sure as hell isn't time for us."  
  
"Prepare to fight then." Zoisite said, raising his sword to Ami.  
  
The others followed his lead as did the scouts.  
  
"What are the rules of this 'fight'?" Makoto asked.  
  
Nephlite smirked. "Simple, we fight without powers, and you scouts are the ones that die."  
  
Rei gripped her sword tightly. 'Hey Jed, looks like you kept your promise...you always said you would come back...'  
  
'Nephlite I know this isn't really you, I forgive you...'  
  
'Hey Zoi, just wanted to let you know, I miss you...'  
  
'I'm still here waiting Kunz...please come back to me...'  
  
Kunzite smiled evilly. He couldn't wait to start killing. 'It returns, and returns, and returns, and returns...'  
  
'Why do I feel like I know you so god damn well?'  
  
'Would you give us the signal already...I need to kill someone already!'  
  
'Her eyes are as green as a cat's...where the hell did that come from?'  
  
The field fell silent once more as each princess said a silent goodbye to their loves, their soul mates, until the noise broke the silence. Who administered it, is unknown, not that it really matters. It was the cry, the one that started the deaths, the betrayals, and the forgiveness.  
  
"FIGHT!"  
  
* * *   
  
Endymion ran through the halls of the palace in a state of semi insanity. Beryl had just arrived on the moon and she was at the palace gates. He had to find Serin. He grabbed a passing servant by the shoulders. "Where's the Princess?" He yelled.  
  
The poor servant started to shake. "I, I don't know. Please, Your Highness, forgive me."  
  
He threw her to the side and continued his search, racing down the hallways, when he spotted her familiar hairstyle at the end of the corridor. "Serin!" He yelled out, trying to catch up to her.  
  
She turned around at the sound of her name and gasped in delight as she saw Endymion. She immediately ran to him, hugging him tightly. "Please, don't ever leave me again." She whispered, burying her face in his embrace.  
  
"I promise." He said kissing the top of her head softly before breaking apart from her.  
  
"She's here." Serin said quietly, knowing that they both knew who "she" was.  
  
"I know." Endymion said. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the nearest exit of the palace.  
  
"Endy where are we going?" Serin called as she tried to keep up.  
  
The two finally reached the outdoors, but Endymion didn't stop. He turned back to glance at her. "I've gotta get you someplace safe. Somewhere away from." He stopped short as he ran into someone. Seeing the frightened look in Serin's eyes, he slowly turned around, dreading the person in front of him.  
  
"Somewhere away from who?" Beryl asked innocently.  
  
He glared menacingly at her before responding, "You." He said spitting in her face.  
  
A look of disgust came across her face as she slowly wiped the saliva off her face and shook it to the ground.  
  
She raised her head and the look that was on her face actually made Endymion's knees tremble and he felt a shiver go up his spine. "Get behind me and stay there." He whispered to Serin who nodded and quickly moved out of the way. He unsheathed his sword and held it in front of him. "What do you want?" He asked flatly.  
  
"Well I wanted to talk to the Princess for a minute but somebody had to go and piss me off." She growled.  
  
Endy motioned for Serin to stay behind me. "Over my dead body."  
  
She glared at him. "That can be arranged."  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh really? I'd love to see you try."  
  
Serin pulled on his arm from behind, trying to keep him from fighting. "Endy please, don't fight her." She begged.  
  
He turned around for a minute, "Serin I have too. I have to protect--" His words were cut off by a yelp of pain as he clutched his arm and fell to the ground. Mustering his strength, he stood up and faced Beryl once more, glaring at her for causing a wound that was obviously painful.  
  
She smiled sweetly at him. "Never turn your back on the enemy. I would have that you would have known that Prince Endymion."  
  
He was about to respond when he felt Serin tap his shoulder. "What's wrong?" He asked, making sure not to turn around but stay facing Beryl.  
  
She smiled. "Kick her ass."  
  
* * *   
  
"Mercury.Bubbles.BLAST!" Ami yelled, desperately trying to give the scouts a small advantage of having the time to run. She started to run, trying to get as far away from Zoisite as quickly as possible. She turned the corner of the building that Rei had been hiding in later and screamed when he popped out in front of her.  
  
"Don't bother screaming Ami, the others are too busy trying to save their own lives, they aren't going to come for you." Zoisite said laughing.  
  
She backed away slowly. "Please, this isn't you, Zoi, please come back to me." She pleaded.  
  
He frowned. "Would you stop with that? I don't know what you are talking about, I was never with you, and I have always been a general of Beryl. Now, if you don't mind, I have a job to do and I'm not leaving till it's finished."  
  
She swallowed hard. There was only one thing left to try, other than that, she was out of ideas. "Ai shiteru Zoisite." She said softly.  
  
He threw back his head and let out a loud booming laugh. "That's nice, really it is. But lying is not going to help you get out of this situation." He looked her over. "I know Beryl wants you dead, but I have a feeling that if you were to come back with me to the Negaverse, she would let you stay."  
  
"I have no intention of joining you." She said.  
  
He shrugged. "Oh well, it was worth a try. It will be such a waste to kill you, you would make a wonderful concubine for the generals." He mused.  
  
That was the last straw for Ami. This was all she needed to prove to herself that this was NOT Zoisite. "No. It will be a waste when you die."  
  
He smiled. "And who is going to kill me? You? Come on little girl, take your best shot, I dare ya." He taunted.  
  
She closed her eyes and gathered her energy. "Shine.Aqua.ILLU" She was cut off by Zoisite slamming the handle of his sword against her hands, making her drop them in pain.  
  
"Ah ah ah." He said smiling at her. "No using powers, remember? Besides, you already cheated by using your bubbles earlier in the fight."  
  
"If you aren't going to fight by the rules, why should I?" Ami asked.  
  
"I may not be the nicest man in the world but I am a fair fighter. And now, it's time for you to die."  
  
"Didn't we go through this already?" Ami growled. "You are the one who is going to die today, not me." She ran at him with her sword up, but was blocked at the last minute by his.  
  
"You seem to forget that I am a general of the negaverse, and will not stand to be killed." He snarled as the two continued to block blow after blow.  
  
"Fine, then you can sit while I kill you." She yelled as she managed to knock him to the ground. "Any last words Zoisite?"  
  
* * *   
  
Rei ran as fast as she could, knowing that her life depended on it. 'Thank God for Ami's bubbles.' She thought. She knew, however, that that was the only help they were going to get. Without powers, they were dead. She stopped running for a minute in an attempt to catch her breath, hoping she had lost Jeadite anyway. No such luck.  
  
"Rei what's wrong? You don't want to fight?" He asked in mock sadness appearing right behind her.  
  
Ignoring the question she jumped into a roundhouse kick launched at his head. He grabbed her foot though, right before the connection was made and pushing her backwards, she fell to the ground.  
  
"Not too experienced are we?" Jeadite asked smirking at her.  
  
She glared at him and picked herself off the ground so she was standing in front of him once again. She paused for a minute, allowing her anger to dissolve before she spoke. "Jed, why can't we just talk about this, before either one of us does something we are going to regret?" She pleaded.  
  
He sneered at her. "My name is not 'Jed'. It's Jeadite, General Jeadite. And I am not here to 'talk about this' I am here to kill you, and I assure you, there will be no regret in my mind once I accomplish that."  
  
She took a deep breath. "If you are so intent on fighting, fine we'll fight. But the outcome will not be my death I can tell you that right now. Prepare yourself."  
  
The two moved into battle stance.  
  
"Ha, that's a joke." Jeadite said laughing. "I'll kill you within five minutes of this so called fight, then I can venture on and be the one to kill the Queen, and I will take the position that is rightfully mine, as Commanding General."  
  
Although Rei was shocked at the news of their plot to murder the queen, she tried not to let herself distracted, and attempted to distract Jed instead. "Well what is your position now?" She asked as the two circled each other, blocking the occasional blow.  
  
"Fourth ranking general." He replied.  
  
"Fourth?" Rei asked in confusion. "You do know that I am second in command of the scouts right?"  
  
He nodded. "And you should be fighting our second in command general, Zoisite, but he is fighting your fourth in command, Mercury."  
  
Rei's mind spun in confusion. 'But when they were Endymion's generals, Zoisite was fourth ranked, and Jed was second.why are they switched now? And if they are then why aren't they fighting against.' Rei suddenly understood why Beryl had chosen to put the second ranked and fourth ranked against each other. She knew of the love that they all held for one another, and she was using it as their downfall. "Shit!" She swore, not realizing that she had said it out loud until Jed commented.  
  
"What's wrong? Did you finally realize that there is no way you can ever beat me?" Jeadite asked smirking.  
  
"Not exactly." She said slowly, trying to figure out what to do.  
  
"Well then prepare yourself to fight." He said raising his sword to her once more.  
  
She raised her also, although not making any swings of her own, only blocking his. She had to come up with a way that would get both of them out of this alive. "Jed, please you don't want to kill me. It's me, Rei, your best friend. Please, Jed you have to remember!" She pleaded with him.  
  
"What is with you and the name Jed." He asked in annoyance. "My name is General Jeadite of the Negaverse.and it always has been." His voice started to sound unsure by the end of his sentence.  
  
Rei felt her spirits is in hopes of him starting to remember. "Except for when it was General Jeadite of Earth, and except for when you were little and it was just Jeadite." She said slowly in hopes of jolting his memory.  
  
He shook his head. "No you are just trying to confuse me!"  
  
She shook her head. "Jed I would never do anything to confuse you or harm you. Ever. You have to believe me!"  
  
He was silent for a moment. Unsure of what or who to believe anymore. "Was I," He hesitated for a minute. "Do you swear to me that you are telling the truth? Was I really a general of Endymion?" He asked inwardly wondering what he was doing.  
  
She nodded. "You were second in command of the General's of Earth. You were one of the four protectors of Endymion, much like us scouts are the four protectors of Princess Serenity." She explained.  
  
He stood there for a minute, silent, letting the information sink in.  
  
"You were born on the sun, then you moved to Mars when you were nine, and you lived with me at the palace. We were best friends. Then when you were twelve, it was time for you to start your training as one of Endymion's guards, so you left for Earth. You were there until a few months ago, when you and the other guardians came to the Moon. Then Beryl took you." She explained quietly.  
  
"Who are the other guardians?" Jeadite asked.  
  
"Nephlite, Zoisite, and Kunzite. Beryl took all of you and brainwashed you so that you would fight against us."  
  
His mind was in a panic. Who was telling the truth? As far as he knew, he had been born in the Negaverse, that is where he grew up, as did the other generals. But now this girl was telling him something completely different, and he wasn't sure who was telling the truth. 'Well it's more likely that Beryl is telling the truth, I mean she has no reason to lie to me, whereas this girl could just be trying to confuse and distract me with these nonsensical lies.' He reasoned.  
  
"Jed." She asked cautiously, seeing the confusion on his face.  
  
"STOP CALLING ME JED!" He screamed before running at her with his sword.  
  
He came at her too quickly for her to move, and the two of them gasped, one in surprise, the other in pain, as the cold metal sliced through her flesh.  
  
* * *   
  
Ami held the sword above his chest, breathing hard, ready to do whatever it would take to keep the princess safe. "Any last words Zoisite?" She asked.  
  
He sighed shaking his head. "How many times do I have to tell you? I am *not* dying today!" he exclaimed as he kicked himself upward, knocking Ami's sword to the ground and her along with it. "I thought you were the smart one?" He asked. "I would have thought you would have figured out that you have absolutely no chance against me and your death will occur within seconds." He smirked at her before asking. "Any last words?"  
  
"Hai." She said softly. "Ai shiteru."  
  
He grinned. "That's nice. It was nice knowing you!" He said happily before twisting the sword deep into her heart.  
  
Ami felt the pain almost immediately, but it didn't matter anymore. She would be dead in a few seconds and she wouldn't have to feel it anymore. Her last thought before she drifted off to eternal sleep, 'How ironic.fatally stabbed in the heart by the only man who has ever been able to steal it.'  
  
* * *   
  
Serin gasped as she felt a small piece of her heart break off and disintegrate.  
  
Beryl and Endymion stopped their fight for a minute. "What's wrong?" Endy asked.  
  
Serin glared at Beryl. "What did you do you monster?!" She yelled.  
  
"Serin, calm down, what happened?" Endy asked again.  
  
"Why don't you ask her." Serin said glaring at Beryl.  
  
Endy turned back to Queen Beryl. "Would someone explain what is going on?" He exclaimed.  
  
"I did nothing. I just sent the generals to fight against the scouts, nothing major." She said shrugging. She turned to Serin with a smile on her face. "So who was it?"  
  
Serin stood there defiantly with tears streaming down her cheeks, resolving not to give her the satisfaction of an answer.  
  
"It must have been Ami right? She was the weakest, I figured she would be the first to die." Beryl said carelessly. "Oh well one down, four more to go."  
  
"You had them kill Ami?" Endymion managed to gasp out.  
  
"You fucking bitch. I hate you. You know that?" Serin said to Beryl. "You are the first person that I have ever come across that I have truly hated. I hope you rot in hell when you die."  
  
Beryl smiled, not at all offended by the speech. "You hate me now? Just wait till the day is over.you haven't seen anything yet."  
  
* * *   
  
Minako stood there, not moving, just staring at the man in front of her. She had barely moved since they had revealed themselves. She took a deep breath. 'Don't think about him as being Kunzite, he isn't Kunz anymore.' She told herself over and over again.  
  
"You are Minako, scout of Venus, I assume." Kunzite said coldly.  
  
She nodded. "You don't really think you can beat me do you?"  
  
He smirked. "Oh so you are planning on beating me?"  
  
She glared at him. "Prepare to meet your death."  
  
"Actually, I was all prepared to watch you meet yours." He exclaimed as she swung his sword at her.  
  
She quickly blocked, bring the swords up and pushing them away. "I'm a lot better than you seem to think I am."  
  
"Not possible. You are a girl, a mere excuse for a guardian of the princess." He said carelessly, attempting another swing, which she quickly blocked.  
  
"Oh really? And you are some huge big shot because you are a guard of the Prince?" She asked, only realizing what she had said at the confused look on his face.  
  
"You really are an idiot, I'm a general of the negaverse. I would never serve that sorry excuse for a Prince."  
  
"Uh yeah. Of course, sorry I got confused for a minute." Minako lied, hoping he would buy it.  
  
He rolled his eyes while the two continued to fight. "That's not too surprising, most Venusians are supposed to be a little slow." He commented.  
  
Minako felt her anger rise up at this. It was one thing to insult her personally, but to insult her entire planet? That was taking it a little too far. "No one insults my people and gets away with it." She growled, her anger now obvious.  
  
"Oh really? And what are you going to do about?" He asked smirking.  
  
She didn't respond and only blocked his blows for a minute, making him think that she was incapable of doing anything. When he least suspected it, however, she swiped her sword right below his attempted block and managed to slice a large gash in his arm that started spurting forth blood.  
  
"Ah! My arm!" He yelled in pain, his sword falling to the ground. He glared at her, his eyes fierce with anger.  
  
She stood there motionless, willing herself not to think about what she was doing.  
  
He reached over and took his sword in one hand, using the other to push himself back up. He tried to lift his arm to ready himself for battle once more, but the pain was to great and he yelled out once more. "You bitch, I'll get you for this!" He exclaimed, dropping his arm in defeat. She stared at him, no emotion on her face, no pain or sorrow in her eyes, and he watched in horror as she lifted her sword and rammed it into his chest. "Too bad you won't be alive to get that revenge." She said simply.  
  
His eyes rolled back into his head, and for a split second, Minako saw the whites of his eyes, before they permanently closed. He dropped to his knees, and right before he was about to fall to the ground, she stepped in front of him, and caught him in her arms. She sat there for a minute, staring at her dead love, finally allowing the tears to freely fall from her eyes. "I'm sorry my love." She whispered softly, holding him close to her. "I'm so sorry."  
  
* * *   
  
Makoto wasted no time as she immediately moved into fighting stance. 'If it's a fight they want, than a fight is what I'm gonna give them.' She thought in determination.  
  
Nephlite chuckled lightly at the look of determination on the young girl's face as he moved into battle stance, raising his sword in front of him. "Do you really expect to beat me?" He asked in amusement.  
  
"Maybe not." She said as the two started fighting, sword clanging against sword. "But I'm sure as hell not going down without a fight."  
  
He smiled. "Oh so you can pretend that you are going to die honorably while protecting your little princess, when all that really happened was you were beaten in a sword fight by the enemy." He sneered.  
  
She glared at him. "At least I'm not a sellout like you are. I didn't betray my kingdom, my liege, my love, and my planet."  
  
He paused for a second in confusion. "What are you talking about? I never betrayed anyone!" He exclaimed.  
  
Makoto didn't reply as she swung at his arm, quickly attempting to injure him while he stood there in confusion.  
  
"I don't think so." He said grinning at her as he swung his arm up and knocked her sword out of her hands, landing it a few feet away from her.  
  
She nervously backed up, trying to think of a way to stall him so she could retrieve her sword. 'Think Makoto think!' This wasn't working!  
  
"Now what exactly were you saying about me betraying my people, my home, or whatever the hell it was you were talking about?" He asked, pointing the sword to her chest, pushing her back a few more steps.  
  
"You really don't remember do you?" She asked softly.  
  
He sighed. "Oh God are you one of those people who go insane during the last few minutes of their lives? Cause I do not feel like dealing with a psychopath right now, I'm really not up to it."  
  
She made a face of mock sympathy. "Oh poor baby." Suddenly her eyes grew huge and her mouth fell open in surprise. She lifted a shaky hand and pointed on finger outwards in the direction that was behind Nephlite.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked, quickly spinning around to see what was behind him that had gotten her so spooked.  
  
Faster than lightening, Makoto knelt down, grabbed her sword again, and was standing, ready to fight, by the time Nephlite had turned around. "Ha!" She exclaimed happily. "I can't believe you fell for that! That's the oldest trick in the book!"  
  
He growled in anger. "Okay now I'm pissed. I was gonna kill you quickly, at least attempt to make it painless."  
  
"No you weren't." She interrupted.  
  
He shrugged. "Okay so maybe I wasn't." The two resumed their fight. He swung towards her head, but was blocked at the last second by her sword. "Ooh getting a little close there aren't we?" He asked smirking at her.  
  
She glared pushing him away. "Not close enough."  
  
"You are just asking to die, aren't you?" He asked, knocking her sword away once again.  
  
Makoto looked around helplessly, she was stuck. 'Maybe.forget it. There's no way that I have enough energy to pull off an attack!' She backed up slowly until her back hit the wall.  
  
He grinned, he had her right where he wanted her. He slowly moved closer until their faces were inches apart, and he could feel her breath on his face. He lifted his sword and lightly traced it along the features of her face. 'She is gorgeous, it would be a shame to kill her.' He mused. "You know," He said, deciding to voice his thoughts. "There are ways out of this."  
  
She shivered as she felt the cold metal trace along her face but she forced herself to remain calm. "And how would that work? If you let me free I come back with you to the Negaverse and become the Generals' whore?" She asked in anger. "I don't think so, just kill me now."  
  
He smiled. "Have it your way." He raised the sword to her head, shaking his own. 'Such a waste.' He thought. He raised his arm back, ready to decapitate the shaking girl in front of him, when she softly spoke.  
  
"Just to let you know, I wasn't going psycho, I was telling the truth." She said softly.  
  
He smirked. "Yeah, right." And with one quick motion, the girl's head had fallen to the ground, her body, no longer functioning, collapsed along side it. He turned away, smiling in satisfaction, about to walk away, when something compelled him to look back at the fallen girl. He did, slowly, almost dreading what he saw. Lying on the ground, in a large pool of blood, lay the severed head. The strange thing was, the girl had died with her eyes opened. Nephlite leaned over to look at her, and the bright green eyes stared back at him, burning into his soul and his mind. He shuddered and hurried away, but all he could see were those green eyes, looking up at him. Her green eyes that had softened when she told him that she had been telling the truth. He stopped for a minute. She said she had told the truth.and those green eyes had shown nothing but truth.but it couldn't be true.could it? He shook it off and continued walking. But still.those eyes.  
  
* * *   
  
Minako walked through the battlefield, her eyes had long ago run out of tears to shed for her love. She jumped and spun around when she heard the snapping of a twig behind her.  
  
"How are you even still alive?" Zoisite growled.  
  
"How are you?" She shot back.  
  
He smirked. "Well Ami died pretty quickly, it wasn't that tough."  
  
Minako gasped at that. She had never thought that.Ami.dead?  
  
"And what about Kunzite?" Zoisite snarled. "He would never just give up and abandon his fight."  
  
She jutted her chin out proudly, feeling no remorse at the moment. "He didn't, unless of course you consider death an abandonment of a fight. And no he did not die in some accident, I killed him."  
  
Zoisite narrowed his eyes. "You bitch." He said lowly, dropping down, ready to fight.  
  
"Oh and what about you?" She accused. "Like you're some saint for killing one of my best friends?"  
  
He shrugged. "It's not my fault she's so weak."  
  
"Shut Up!" Minako yelled as she jabbed her sword at him.  
  
He jumped back before it even came close to hitting him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "And you killed Kunzite how?"  
  
She growled. "The same way I'm going to kill you.and the same way I assume you killed Ami you heartless bastard."  
  
He stopped for a minute and pretended to be upset. "Now that just hurt." He said. "Besides," He added, the evil smile returning to his face. "I'm second in command of the generals, you aren't going to beat me."  
  
"Oh really?" She asked as the two continued their fight. "Then how is it that I managed to beat your first general?"  
  
He scowled at this. "Leave Kunzite out of this.it was an accident I'm sure. You probably used your love me chain to hold him, there was no way you beat him fairly."  
  
"Why? Because I'm a scout, or because I'm a girl?" She asked, her anger growing with each word that her enemy spoke.  
  
He shrugged. "Both actually. You scouts walk around in those showy little outfits pretending you're there to save the world, but when someone actually attempts to fight you, you can't last more than ten minutes. Kinda like your friend, Ami. She didn't last too long."  
  
She glared at him. "Shut the fuck up."  
  
He smiled. "Oh I see we hit a sensitive spot ne?"  
  
She spit at him. "Go to hell."  
  
He smiled. "Only if you come with me."  
  
"Would you just die already!" Minako yelled as she charged at the surprised Zoisite. Not seeing the attack coming, the man stood there stunned, and Minako was able to knock away his sword. She quickly bent down to retrieve it before he had the chance. She smiled at him. "Now who's the one who is gonna die?"  
  
He tried to swallow past the large lump that had formed in his throat. "Minako, you can't kill me." He said.  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"  
  
"Because.because." He stalled, desperately trying to find a way out of this.  
  
"You know," She said, moving closer to him. "At least Kunzite had the decency to die with honor, to accept his death and not try to get around it like you are." She lifted his sword in front of her face and looked at it. "And look, you're going to die by your own sword." She laughed. "You know, this is kinda fun." With that said, she slowly pushed the tip of Zoisite's sword into his abdomen.slowly at first, then quickly ramming the entire sword in so that is broke through unto the other side.  
  
He moaned in immediate pain and crumpled to the ground.  
  
"I needed to make sure you die a long, slow, painful death." She said staring down at him. She turned to walk away, but at the last minute, turned back again to coldly add, "That was for Ami."  
  
* * *  
  
"Why don't you just give up? You can't beat me." Beryl said grinning.  
  
Endymion growled as he continued to attempt to wound her. "Maybe I won't, but in the end, neither will you. Good will prevail."  
  
"Ha!" She yelled. "What a joke. We both know that I will defeat the Moon Kingdom. After all, two of your scouts are already dead."  
  
"As are two of my guards." He replied.  
  
Her eyes twinkled in amusement. "Don't you mean my guards?"  
  
He glared at her. "The only reason that they are your guards, the only reason that two of the scouts are dead, the only reason that you even have a slight chance at winning this war, is because you don't fight fairly."  
  
She laughed. "What am I supposed to feel guilty or something now? Besides, all's fair in love and war."  
  
He was about to respond when a small girl came running out from the palace. "Endymion!" She cried.  
  
"Terra get back inside with Serin!" Endymion said fiercely.  
  
"But." She said protesting.  
  
"Terra, Now!"  
  
"Terra, come on, stay over here." Serin said grabbing Terra and pulling her away from the fight.  
  
"And who is Terra?" Beryl asked.  
  
"None of your business." He snarled.  
  
"I'm his little sister, Princess Terra of Earth." Terra supplied from where she was standing with Serin. "Are you the bad person that took Jade and Zoisite away from us?" She asked.  
  
Beryl chuckled. "I see I've already made my mark huh?"  
  
"ENDYMION!" Terra shrieked.  
  
He quickly turned around and gasped, Beryl had sent her youma after Serin, who was now being help hostage by two youma, their arms wrapped around her throat. She was obviously having trouble breathing. "Serin, I'm coming, hold on."  
  
Serin struggled for a moment as she tried to pull the arms away from her throat to allow some air into her lungs. Her eyes widened and she pointed behind Endymion. "Look.out." She croaked.  
  
Endymion was about to turn around to see what she was talking about when the pain hit him. He moaned as he felt the sharp point pierce through his back, and he gasped when he saw it come out through his stomach, a few drops of blood dripping out along with it.  
  
Beryl shook her head. "Didn't you learn in the beginning of the fight never to turn your back on an enemy?" She asked. "You should never make the same mistake twice, it could be fatal."  
  
He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block out the pain. 'God I wish Terra and Serin didn't have to see this.' He thought. He fell to the ground, the pain was too great for him to stand now, and he writhed on the ground, the pain increasing with every second.  
  
Beryl smiled. "This is taking much to long, I have things to do, people to kill." She reached down and yanked the sword out of his back. She motioned to the youma holding Serin. "Release her." She said. Serin and Terra sighed in relief for a moment, hoping that Beryl would leave, and they would be able to get him help. The thought vanished from their minds as she lifted the sword and stabbed him in another spot on his back.  
  
He screamed in immediate pain.  
  
"NO!" Serin screamed as the tears slid down her cheeks.  
  
"Please stop!" Terra begged, covering her eyes, trying to rid herself of the horrible mental image.  
  
Beryl paused for a moment and looked up at the two, smiling sweetly. "What's wrong? Can't stand to watch?" Her smile turned evil. "He'll be dead soon anyway." She once again grasped the sword, ripped it out of his back and proceeded to repeatedly stab the poor man in the back  
  
His screams echoed through the palace grounds, and in Serin's head. And only when they stopped, did Beryl finally cease the stabbing. "You fucking monster!" Serin screamed, ready to charge at her, but was held back once again by youma, this time they stood behind her, holding her arms, not allowing her to run after Beryl.  
  
They had forgotten about Terra.  
  
She quickly ran at Beryl, punching and kicking her, doing whatever she could to attempt to harm the miserable beast.  
  
"Get off of me you little brat!" Beryl yelled, slamming a hand into Terra's head, knocking her to the ground a few feet away. The girl didn't move.  
  
"Let me go!" Serin yelled. "I have to help her or she's going to die!"  
  
Beryl raised an eyebrow at Serin and smiled. "Oh I see, you don't want her to die?"  
  
"Don't touch her!" She screamed.  
  
"Fine, I will not move any closer to the girl." Beryl said agreeing to the Princess' request.  
  
She fell silent for a minute, unsure of what Beryl was up to.  
  
"I'll kill her from here." Beryl said simply. Before Serin could realize what she was about to do, Beryl lifted her sword in front of her, pointed it at the girl and whispered something. Seconds later a blast of power slammed into the unconscious girl.  
  
"NO!" Serin screamed.  
  
Beryl walked over to check for a pulse. "Oh did I kill her? Oops." She said smiling.  
  
"You bitch! You fucking bitch!" Serin screamed.  
  
Beryl smiled. "Well I'll leave you alone for now, I'll be back to kill you later." She snapped her fingers and the youma released Serin, but before Serin could attack, the three disappeared.  
  
* * *  
  
Minako groaned as she heard the approaching footsteps behind her. She forced her weary body to turn around and move into fighting stance. She sighed heavily once she saw who it was. A youma she could have dealt with, but she wasn't sure if she had enough energy, or willpower, to fight another general.  
  
"Are you sighing because you've realized that you're about to die?" Nephlite asked smirking.  
  
She shook her head. "You know this whole 'you're going to die' thing is getting kind of old. I've killed two of you already, what makes you think that you can beat me?" She asked.  
  
Nephlite gave her a strange look. "Two?"  
  
Minako smiled. "Yeah Kunzite died pretty quickly, he was actually really weak. But at least he died with honor, unlike Zoisite who was pleading for his life until the last moment. He was killed with his own sword too.ironic." She added.  
  
He glared at the smiling girl in front of him. "You fucking bitch."  
  
Now it was her turn to become angry. "I am so sick of being insulted by you idiots!" She growled. "Besides, what about the fact that you killed Makoto?"  
  
"So? That was just her. You killed Kunzite and Zoisite." He shot back.  
  
"Just her?" Minako asked in fury. "How dare you say 'just her' she was my best friend! And the love of your life not to long ago."  
  
He held up his hand. "I am really sick of hearing these pathetic lies about how I was really a general of Endymion. As if I would ever lower myself enough to serve him!" He spat out. "Now let's just fight so I can kill you already."  
  
"Fine." She replied and the fight began. Minako started having trouble almost immediately. She had barely any energy left from the previous two fights, and Nephlite was a much better sword fighter than she expected him to be. 'I can't lose this fight.' She thought as she struggled to block his attacks. 'I have to protect the princess.'  
  
"Why won't you just die already?' Nephlite growled as she blocked another one of his shots.  
  
"Because I have a real reason to fight. I'm fighting for freedom, justice, and on behalf of the people in the solar system. Unlike you negaverse trash who want nothing more than more power for yourselves."  
  
"You think you're so smart, well you're wrong. I have just as much of a reason to fight as you do." He shot back.  
  
"Oh really?" She asked. "And what reason is that? So your bitch of a egomaniac bitch of a Queen can rule the Universe and kill everyone who doesn't follow her?" Minako asked.  
  
He narrowed his eyes in anger. "No one calls Queen Beryl and egomaniac bitch, especially not some sailor scout." He yelled, charging at her, sword in hand.  
  
She attempted to block, but her energy was almost nonexistent, and her sword flew to the ground.  
  
Threatening her with his sword, Nephlite knelt down and picked up her sword. "You killed Zoisite and Kunzite.and for that, you're going to have to pay." He smiled as he mimicked her words from earlier. "Killed with his own sword too.ironic" He lifted her sword above her chest. "Nice knowing you." He said as he slammed the sword into her chest.  
  
The affect was immediate as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slumped down to the ground, blood pooling out around her. He smiled once more before walking away.  
  
As the life slowly drained out of Minako, once thought ran through her mind. 'Forgive me Princess.I have failed you.'  
  
* * *   
  
*(Quick Note: This part takes place at the same time as the fight between Minako and Nephlite)  
  
"STOP CALLING ME JED!" He screamed before running at her with his sword.  
  
He came at her too quickly for her to move, and the two of them gasped, one in surprise, the other in pain, as the cold metal sliced through her flesh.  
  
Rei doubled over in pain as she felt the blade pushing through her internal organs. She gasped for breath as she fell to the ground.  
  
Jeadite slowly withdrew his sword, staring down at the girl.  
  
Rei saw her life slowly parade before her eyes. 'I guess because I'm going to be dying slowly, my life won't flash by as quickly.' She thought with a sad smile. As her life slowly passed by, she saw herself as a young child, the first time she met Jed, the first time he called her his best friend, and the first time that he had left her. She saw all the promises he had made to her over the years, and it slowly dawned on her that when Jed had betrayed her, he had broken every promise that he had ever made. Everything that she had always been lead to believe by him that would always stay the same, was now destroyed. And the pain of that realization, well that was far worse than any sword wound could every be, and as she lay crumpled on the ground, the life slowly draining out of her, the tears silently started to fall down her cheeks.  
  
"See I knew you were weak." He scoffed.  
  
"Why? Because I'm crying? Crying is a weakness to you?" She asked.  
  
"When you cry because you're dying it is." He shot back.  
  
She shook her head. "You're such an asshole." She said. "I'm not crying because you stabbed me. And I'm not crying because I'm about to die. I'm crying because I just realized that in that one moment, in that one second even, that you chose to fight for Beryl, you broke every promise you have ever made to me."  
  
"Stop talking about how I betrayed you!" He exclaimed. "I didn't betray anyone. I've never met you in my life! I was born in Beryl's army and I will die in Beryl's army. You are just a weak person, trying to get sympathy from me because you're dying." He said.  
  
"I already told you, I'm not crying because my death is inevitably going to occur shortly. Actually, I would rather die than live in a world where you were a traitor." She said.  
  
"STOP CALLING ME A TRAITOR!" He screamed in frustration.  
  
Had she had enough energy, Rei would have jumped at the sudden anger, but due to loss of blood, she simply sat still. "You promised you would always be there for me!" She yelled back. "You promised that we would always be best friends! That you would always be on my side and fight beside me!" Her silent tears turned into sobs. "And you broke your promises. Every single one of them."  
  
"Please, don't cry." Jeadite said softly, sinking to the ground next to the girl, ignoring the blood that had already started to pool around her. "I'm not really as tough as I may seem, and I really hate when people cry. Please stop." He begged her.  
  
She wiped her eyes and looked at the man, the two now back at eye level. "Well I hope it helps to know that you caused me tears in the first place." She said bitterly.  
  
"Why are you doing this to me?" He whispered.  
  
"I didn't do anything to you. You did this to yourself." She replied.  
  
He groaned in frustration. "What is going on?" He asked. "Why are you acting like this towards me?"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Well one reason could be because you stabbed me!" She exclaimed.  
  
He bit his lip nervously for a moment. Why was he acting this way? 'She's the enemy, and I destroyed her, now lets move on!' He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. The tears had started again and his heart broke with each one of her sobs.  
  
"Please just leave." She sobbed. "You did what you came to do. You defeated me, you killed me, and you broke my spirit. You ruined my faith, you've ruined my trust, what more can you possibly do to a person?" She asked, turning her head away, not expecting an answer.  
  
"Apologize." He said softly.  
  
She slowly turned her head back to look at the man in front of her. 'He's changed so much since Beryl took him, and yet, he's changed so little.' She thought. "Apologize?" She asked quietly.  
  
He nodded. "I'm not sure why I'm apologizing, but this is the first time that I have felt remorse over someone that I have killed. And I don't know why, but there is something about you, something that makes me feel guilty for what I did. So I apologize. I know it's not going to make you live any longer, and I know it's not going to bring back your faith or anything, but it's the only thing I can offer to you. Please take it."  
  
She moved her position slightly, grimacing in pain, so she could see him more clearly. "You're remembering, aren't you?" She asked slowly.  
  
He shook his head, trying to force away the thoughts that were slowly trying to push their way into his brain. "There is nothing for me to remember." He said stubbornly.  
  
"If you really wanted to apologize, if you really felt guilty about what you did, and if you really wanted to prove that to me, you would let yourself remember." She said softly as a single tear drop rolled off her cheek and slowly fell to the ground.  
  
Jeadite followed the tear with his eyes, the whole world now moving in slow motion, and as the tear fell closer and closer to the ground, layer after layer of the fog clouding his brain that he had not even known was there, started to disappear.  
  
*BOOM*  
  
The tear exploded upon impact and something in Jeadite's mind seemed to break loose. An image flashed into his mind, one with a young boy who he assumed to be himself, and a young girl, that looked an awful lot like the one now in front of him. 'Rei.' His mind urged him. 'The girl's name is Rei.' ~~ She giggled at the image. "Goodbye Jed!" she called as the two got ready to transport. "Bye!" He called back. "And don't worry. I'll come back. We're best friends aren't we?" ~~ The image disappeared almost as quickly as it had come, and left Jeadite with a very confused look on his face. "Jed." He said softly.  
  
Rei paused for a minute when she heard him speak.  
  
He looked over at her. "Are you Rei?" He asked.  
  
She nodded. "And you're Jed." She said slowly, hoping to help jar his memories.  
  
"An image just popped into my head.it was with two children, one looked like me, and the other looked like you, just much younger." He started slowly. "And the boy was leaving somewhere, and the young girl said 'Goodbye Jed.' And than Jed said that he would come back.that the two were best friends.and it feels so familiar but."  
  
A smile started to spread across her face as Rei realized that he was starting to remember. The memory that had just come back to him was of the time that he had left to go back home, right after they had first met. He was remembering!  
  
Jeadite rubbed his forehead. "I think I'm going insane.this isn't right those aren't memories of my life!"  
  
The tears continued to fall from her eyes as she pleaded with him. "Jeadite.Jed, please remember!" She begged as another tear rolled off her cheek and fell to the ground.  
  
Once again, the world moved slowly, as the falling tear captivated Jeadite's eyes. It exploded when it hit the ground.  
  
*BOOM*  
  
Another memory came flying into his head. ~~ "Hey dork! Don't splash me!" He said splashing her back. "Hey, I am not a dork!" Rei exclaimed. "Fine I have come up with a new name for you. You shall now be referred to as dorkus." Jeadite decided. Rei couldn't help but laugh. "Dorkus? Where did you come up with that?" She asked. ~~ As the image slowly drifted away, he turned his eyes to the girl in front of him. "Dorkus.?" He asked softly.unsure of what he was really asking. The name sounded so familiar, but there was something.something pushing it away telling him that this was all lies.  
  
She nodded. "You used to call me dorkus when we were little." Another tear, this time one of joy and hope that he might be remembering her, rolled off her cheek and hit the ground.  
  
This time Jeadite had no time to watch the tear fall as another memory slammed into his brain. ~~ Just as he finished the door opened. The four boys looked up to see a young boy walk in. "Jeadite I presume?" The Prince asked. He nodded as he sat down. "Sorry. I just got here a few minutes ago and it took me while to find the conference room." Endymion smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. We just all introduced ourselves. This is Kunzite, Nephrite, and Zoisite." He said pointing to each one respectively. "And I'm Prince Endymion." ~~ "Endymion." He whispered. "My Prince.and Kunz, and Neph, and Zoi."  
  
Rei tried to smile but ended up biting her lower lip to keep herself from screaming in pain. The joy that she felt at that moment though, almost made up for the pain she was feeling. He was remembering!  
  
The tears fell faster now, and the memories came just as quick. ~~ The guards reluctantly released the five men who proceeded to turn around, ready to greet their savior. The sight before them though caused their jaws to drop without any words coming out. The girl before them was gorgeous. She had long raven hair that gracefully flowed down her back. She had large raven eyes that entranced whoever looked towards them. She was wearing a tight fitting white body suit with a purple bow in the back, and a very very very short red skirt. "Rei?" Jeadite finally managed to get out. ~~ Another one came quickly afterwards. ~~ "You wouldn't." Jade said softly, his tough exterior broken. "I really don't think you can afford to try me can you?" She asked. He sighed in defeat. "What do you want from me?" He asked. She leaned closer to him and whispered, "I want you. I want a strong, fierce determined warrior who will lead in for the Dark Kingdom in the battle against the Moon Kingdom. And you are the perfect person for the job." He felt his breath get caught in his throat. She really would do it, and there was nothing he could do to stop her other then going over to the side of the Dark Kingdom. "If I join you," He started slowly; "Will you promise that she will be left alone?" ~~ And as the tears fell, one by one, Jeadite's memories came rushing back to him. Tear by tear, memory by memory . ~~ "Rei, I could never hate you, you're my best friend!" He exclaimed. ~~ Memory after memory came flooding back to him. ~~ Jade felt his stomach drop at her words. So that's what her plan was! She already had Zoisite, he was next, and then she was going to go after Kunzite and Nephlite! 'There is no way that the scouts will be able to defeat us once we are evil!' He realized, as he thought back to their first day at sparring. 'True their elements are more powerful, but they will have to be fighting against their loves.' ~~ Another quickly followed. ~~ He hugged her back and whispered. "I'm gonna miss you too. But don't worry we'll see each other again I promise. Good bye my princess. And remember we are best friends forever. That will never change." ~~ Jade looked up at the girl in front of him."Best friends forever." He whispered.  
  
She nodded, smiling happily. "Do you remember?"  
  
He nodded, and as he did, one final memory came back to him. ~~ 'As long as you are in love with her, you can't be happy if she is with someone else.' ~~ "Hey dorkus." He said softly.  
  
"Jed, you remember!" She cried happily, attempting to smile before crying out in pain.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked in immediate concern, moving closer to her.  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine." She managed to gasp out, holding her hand over the wound on her stomach.  
  
"Oh God Rei! I'm sorry! I, I." He let his voice trail off unsure of how to apologize.  
  
"It's not your fault." She said.  
  
"Don't try and take away my guilt. I did this to you, I killed you, this is my fault." He said shaking his head sadly.  
  
She gasped in pain for a moment as the blood seeped through her fingers. "It's *not* your fault!" She exclaimed. "Beryl did this to you." She reached out and grabbed his hand. "And at least you remember. That's all that matters."  
  
He looked into her eyes and all his love that he had previously felt for her come rushing back. "Rei, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long--"  
  
"Jeadite!"  
  
He was interrupted by the voice behind him and he immediately recognized it as Nephlite's. "Shit." He swore, hastily pulling his hand away from hers. "Over here." He called.  
  
"I know where you are, what are you doing, just kill her already." Nephlite called over.  
  
"I'm just making sure she's dead. We don't need any surprise attacks." He yelled.  
  
"Okay, well hurry, we have to go after the queen next, the others are all dead already." Nephlite called back.  
  
Rei's eyes widened at this. "The others are gone?" She asked.  
  
Jade turned back to her. "The others were fighting this whole time. It was only likely that everyone would eventually die." He said quietly.  
  
"I guess that's what happened between us huh?" She asked softly.  
  
Tears filled his blue eyes, which were once again sky colored, and quickly overflowed. "Rei I'm so sorry." He said. "I never meant for things to turn out like this.I.I never imagined that this would happen."  
  
She tried to smile as tears once again filled her own eyes. "Just promise me one thing?" She asked, barely able to speak anymore, due to the blood loss she had suffered.  
  
"Anything."  
  
"Promise me." She paused for a minute, trying to get enough breath to finish her sentence. "Promise that you'll never forget me?" She asked.  
  
He reached over and squeezed her hand. "Of course not dorkus. You're my best friend." He paused for a minute. "I love you." He admitted.  
  
Rei felt her heart break at the words. 'Not that it wasn't broken already.' She thought miserably. He had said the words she had been waiting for, but she knew that he didn't mean it the way she wanted him too. She knew that he only meant it as love between friends, and that wasn't the love she felt towards him. "I know you do. I love you too." She said, as always, hiding her true feelings about how she felt, not letting him know that she meant her I love you in a different way than he meant his. It was too late for that.  
  
He cringed inwardly. She obviously didn't feel the same way. She took his I love you as a mere friendship love, and love shared between two best friends, not between lovers. "Please don't go yet. I'm not ready to let you go, I can't do this without you." He said softly, his voice getting choked up as the realization that his best friend was going to die, finally hit him.  
  
"Can't do what without me?" She asked.  
  
"Live." He replied. "I can't live without you. You mean the world to me!" He exclaimed. "Please, don't leave me."  
  
"I have to Jed. I'm sorry, I'll see you on the other side." She whispered. Her eyes glazed over and slowly closed.  
  
"Rei?" He whispered. He felt her hand go limp in his own and the rising and falling of her chest stopped. "NOOO!" He screamed as the tears came uncontrollably now. "Rei!" He sobbed, holding her limp body to his own. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." He whispered. He moved her body away from his and took one last look at her. Her long black flowing hair which, even in death, looked perfect. Her closed eyes giving her a look of grace and innocence. And her lips. The lips that had tempted him since the day he set foot on the Moon, but had been untouchable for many years before that. The tears continued to fall from his eyes, silently now, as he leaned his head over hers, and briefly touched his lips to hers. It was pure heaven. He lifted his head away. "Our first, last, and only kiss." He whispered softly, laying her gently on the ground.  
  
"Traitor!"  
  
He quickly turned away from Rei's body, dreading the fight that he knew was about to occur. "Nephlite." He said quietly.  
  
"You're a traitor!" Nephlite accused him. "You fell in love with the enemy, and now you allowed her to mess with your mind."  
  
He shook his head. "*She* isn't the one who is the enemy, and *she* isn't the one who messed with our minds." He said, not even bothering to deny the accusation of his love for her.  
  
"See? See what she's done to you!" Nephlite exclaimed.  
  
"No! She didn't do anything to me except brought me back, she showed me the truth. Beryl is the enemy Neph! She kidnapped us, brainwashed us, and made us fight against the people we love more than anyone in the world." He tried to explain.  
  
"Love. What a waste of time." Nephlite spat out.  
  
Jade closed his eyes for a minute, an image of his love appearing in his mind, as he shook his head. "You're wrong, love is the most beautiful, most powerful thing there is." He was about to continue when he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He gasped in pain and opening his eyes, he looked down to see Nephlite's sword pushed into his flesh, blood seeping out around the wound. He slowly lifted his head to look at the man in front of him.  
  
"Love makes you weak." Nephlite said, his face and voice emotionless. "That girl made you weak."  
  
"That girl, meant more to me than anyone in the world, I love her and I am not going to stand here while you ridicule her. Dying or not!" He exclaimed, lifting his own sword into his hand.  
  
Nephlite's eyes widened as he realized that his only defense was his sword, which was busy killing Jeadite at the moment. He raised his hands in front of his face, not wanting to watch.  
  
Jade's eyes softened for a moment. "I'm sorry Neph, but I can't let you hurt anyone else." He said quietly as he lifted the sword and mustering as much energy as he could, he rammed it into his heart.  
  
Nephlite fell to the ground silently, and lay there, quietly, motionless. He was dead.  
  
Jade fell to the ground as sobs wracked his body. "I just killed two of my best friends, and the love of my life.I have no reason to live." He said softly to himself, pulling the sword away from his stomach. He gave one last look at the people around him. "Forgive me." He whispered softly before plunging the sword into his heart.  
  
Moments later, Jade had joined the many others who had fallen that day.  
  
* * *   
  
Everyone was gone now. Endymion.Terra.Rei.Jade.Zoisite.Ami.everyone. "They're gone." She whispered sinking to the ground, curling herself into a ball. "They're all gone." She whispered again as the tears started to fall from her eyes. "Please.you can't all leave me here alone." She cried out, not expecting anyone to answer. She raised her head, Endymion's body was lying in front of her. She crawled over to him and turned him around, cradling his head in her lap. "I love you Endymion." She said softly, kissing his forehead. Her quiet tears now became sobs as she mourned the loss of all her friends. "Gone.all gone." She whispered hysterically. Looking down at her beloved once more, she noticed that his sword was lying on the side of him. She slowly reached over and picked it up, admiring the way the sun glinted off the sharp blade. "My time has come now." She whispered to herself. Then looking at Endymion she spoke louder. "I'll be joining you soon my love, please wait for me, I'm on my way." She kissed him softly one last time, noting that his body had already grown cold, and lifted the sword above her own chest. "It is time now, for this sword to be sheathed in a new place. For it to rust as my body decomposes. It is time now for me to free my soul, and end the aching I feel inside." She spoke softly. She looked at the sky above her and smiled lightly. "I know that you all died because of me, and trying to protect me, and I thank you for it. And I know that we will all be together again someday." She quickly brought the sword down straight into her heart. She fought back the urge to scream in pain and after a few seconds her eyes fluttered closed.  
  
* * *  
  
The End of Chapter 13 of As the Tears Fell  
  
Translations:  
  
Arigato: Thank you  
  
Ai Shiteru: I love you  
  
Hai: Yes  
  
Iie: No  
  
Ne: In this case, almost used as no. Ex. I see we hit a sensitive spot ne? I see we hit a sensitive spot no? Yeah its cruel I know, but trust me, things had to end this way to fit with my future stories. I did warn you! ^_^ Anyway, this isn't quite the end, there is an epilogue which will be out as soon as I can get it out. I'm moving back to college tomorrow and things (writing wise at least) will slow incredibly I've no doubt. So I'll do my best though to keep updating. Okay, a few explanations: Zoisite never started to remember because he was with Beryl the longest and had been brainwashed the longest, etc. As I stated earlier, I don't know the details of who kills who and in what order, so this was my creativity on the subject. Hope you enjoyed, stick around for the final piece! As always, thanks for reading and review please! 


	15. Epilogue

Wow sorry this took such an insanely long time. I hopefully mentioned during my last update that once I returned to school things would slow down immensely. Yeah, well I'm back at school, so updates are extremely slow, obviously. Sorry it took so long to get this last little piece out though. I don't really remember what exactly happened at the end of the silver millennium, and as far as I know, it was never explained in the show how exactly they got from that time period to the present, so this is my version. Sorry if its not what everyone has in mind, it's just my thoughts on it. Thank you so so much for all of the reviews, Missy, Dayaja, Wow, and Love Hurts, thank you sooo much guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the story, I'm sorry this update is so delayed! And as always thank you Pyro*Chic for the review.I promise that "one day" for Ever Forever Ever Five will come eventually. Hopefully sooner than we all think! And as for the song? That's awesome, I would LOVE to read it! If you don't mind, definitely send it to me, sunnysidemeggs@yahoo.com.  
  
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As the Tears Fell  
  
By MCRK  
  
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She looked around the fallen kingdom, the ground littered with bodies of those who had unjustly died, and she sighed. Beryl had succeeded. Queen Serenity continued her walk through the palace grounds, searching for any sign of life, anywhere. She found none. Turning her head away, she thought she saw a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. She turned back, and saw the still, lifeless body of Kunzite lying on the ground, the look of evil still apparent in his face expressions. She shook her head sadly. He was an excellent warrior and a kind hearted person before Beryl took him. "Poor Minako." She said quietly. At the sound of the name, remembrance of Beryl's plan came into her mind. She continued her search, walking faster now, only hoping that she would find them in time. She quickly turned a corner and nearly stumbled over the body in front of her. She cautiously leaned over to see if they were still alive, and nearly fainted from shock. Reeling back she quickly closed her eyes, leaning against the wall of a building for support, her heart racing wildly. "No!" She whispered eyes still squeezed shut. "Please let it be a hallucination, a dream, anything!" But when she slowly opened her eyes once again, the battered and bruised body of Sailor Mercury still lay before her. She kneeled down next to the body, saying a silent goodbye to the fallen soldier. She stood a moment later, wiping a tear from her eye and continued on. She quickened her pace once again, even though she knew that her search was useless, Beryl wouldn't have left anyone alive. She came across a body, and gasped as she realized that the severed head was lying a few feet away. Tears fell quicker from her eyes now as she realized it was Makoto. Unable to look at the body in it's present form, she moved on, and only moments later did she come across Nephlite's body, the blood around him already dried and matted against him. She turned away, only to see the bodies of Rei and Jeadite staring up at her.lifeless as all the others had been. Sobs now wracked her body as she, for the first time, realized that Beryl truly had succeeded. She ran from the spot she was in and moments later, she passed by Zoisite's body, blood still slightly oozing from his fatal wound. She passed by Minako, and a sad smile came onto her face amidst the tears. "I guess you really can't fight destiny." She whispered softly to the fallen girl. That thought broke away what little self-control Serenity had left as she collapsed to the ground, sobbing. She cried for the many innocent soldiers that had died that day, she cried for the families that had been torn apart in the war, she cried for the generals, who had been stolen from their lives in their most prime time, she cried for the guardians who had died at the hands of their loved ones, and she cried for herself. She cried because she was left here, with a fallen kingdom, with few people if anyone left alive. She sat there for what a long time, just sobbing, letting go of everything that had been happening, and everything that had just occurred. After what felt like hours, her tears finally ceased. She had run out. She heard footsteps behind her and quickly dried her eyes before standing and turning around, hoping that it would be a citizen of the moon.  
  
"My Queen." Luna said sadly, bowing her head respectfully, Artemis along side her, repeating her motions.  
  
"Luna, Artemis." She said softly.  
  
They looked up. "We were afraid that they had gotten you My Queen." Artemis said, padding closer to her.  
  
She looked away for a moment, fresh tears appearing in her eyes, before turning back to the two cats and asking, "Is.is there anyone alive that you found?"  
  
The two quietly shook their heads.  
  
"What about Serin?" Serenity asked frantically. "Did either of you find Serin? Where is she?"  
  
Luna took a step forward. "I'm so sorry Serenity. She is dead. Along with the Prince and Princess of Earth."  
  
She slowly sank to the ground once more. A single tear trickled down her cheek as she softly whispered the words that she thought she never would have too. "Beryl won."  
  
Luna moved closer to Artemis. "You know, Serenity, this is the first time in my life that I actually envy you." She said softly.  
  
Queen Serenity looked over at her. "Why is that Luna?" She asked. "I didn't think there was anyone out there who wanted to lose their daughter, their niece, their future son-in-law, their protectors and their whole god damn planet to one fucking person!" She screamed in frustration. "Why Luna?! Why would you envy me?" She screamed.  
  
"Because." She said simply, not fazed by the Queen's outburst. "Cats can't cry."  
  
The Queen offered the small cat a sympathetic smile through her falling tears, but offered no words of comfort. Words couldn't help anymore.  
  
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Artemis questioned softly.  
  
Luna shook her head sadly. "There is nothing.unless.never mind, that won't work anyway."  
  
"What?" Serenity asked, a glimmer of hope showing in her voice.  
  
"Nothing my Queen. It's some silly idea that is fatal, and that wouldn't even work anyway." Luna insisted.  
  
"Luna! As your Queen, I order you to tell me what you are talking about." Serenity said.  
  
She sighed. "I thought that maybe you could have used the crystal to heal all of them, to bring them back to life, but then I remembered that that is impossible. If you were to use the crystal it would kill you. Besides, what point is they're bringing them back to life if there is no one alive anymore?" She asked.  
  
Serenity's hope fell once again, but wised a moment later. "What if I healed them, but didn't keep them alive in this time," She said quickly, the plan rushing into her mind. "What if I send them to Earth, in a future time, and allow them all to be born again?" She questioned.  
  
Luna shook her head firmly. "Forget it. The crystal may not even have that kind of power and if it does, surely it will kill you to use it for something like that."  
  
The queen looked at the small cat in front of her with a puzzled look on her face. "Why would it kill me? I know that I am not the chosen one, as Serin was, but still, I'm a part of the moon family."  
  
"But you were never born into the moon family." Artemis answered gently. "It's true that anyone in the Moon family can use the crystal, just not as well as Serin, the chosen one, but they have to have been born into the moon family, you married into it." He explained.  
  
A determined look came across her face. "Well than I guess this is goodbye between us." She said quietly.  
  
Luna looked up in surprise. "What are you talking about Serenity?" She asked. "Surely you can't mean that."  
  
Serenity nodded firmly. "I have nothing left to live for. These children gave their lives, they deserve another chance.and I owe it to them to allow them to have that chance, to give them the chance at a normal life."  
  
"What about the generals?" Artemis asked.  
  
"I'm sending them also. They were not turned evil by choice.even Jeadite, I know that there was a reason that he left, and he, as do all the others, deserve a second chance. They deserve a chance to live again, and to love." She explained. "Now, I will assume that Serin has the crystal, so please, lead me to.where she is." She said, her voice wavering as she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.  
  
The cats nodded and the three silently made their way over to where Serin's body lay.  
  
Feeling the hot salty tears slide down her cheeks, Serenity leaned over her daughter and opened the locket that she had always worn around her neck. She removed the crystal and stood, turning away from the body. "Now Luna," She said. "I have no idea how to do this, but I'm assuming you do, so I am going to need your help."  
  
Luna nodded her head in defeat, she knew that once the queen set her mind to something, there was nothing anyone could do to change it. "Considering the state that their bodies are in.you would be better off just sending their spirits."  
  
The Queen nodded. "Right.and how do I do that?" She asked.  
  
"First close your eyes and completely clear your head." Luna instructed. "Then lift the silver crystal in front of you, and concentrate on its power."  
  
Serenity nodded once again and did what Luna had said.  
  
"Now think about each on of the guardians, the generals, the prince and the princess and,"  
  
"And Princess Terra." Serenity interrupted.  
  
"And Princess Terra." Luna agreed. "Now, you have to do this slowly to ensure that everyone is sent. One by one, go through each of them and think carefully about them, imagine their spirits lifting from their bodies and being incased in small balls.take as much time as you need, and make sure you are still focusing on the power of the silver crystal." She said. "When you are done, there should be small crystal like balls floating in front of you."  
  
Luna and Artemis sat patiently and quietly for the next few minutes, waiting for the queen to finish.  
  
"Okay. Everyone is in front of me." The Queen said softly, her eyes still closed, her breath getting heavier, making it obvious to the cats that her energy was draining quickly.  
  
"Now concentrate once more. Choose a time and a place where you want to send everyone. Choose how many years into the future you would like it to be, and where on Earth you want them to be. Then simply combine your power and energy with that of the crystal and use that power to send them." Luna gave the last instructions.  
  
Queen Serenity lifted the crystal in the air, and she was suddenly encased in a white light that seemed to glow around her. She frowned in deep concentration. Her face making it obvious how much power and energy this was taking to complete. Her body remained encased in light for a few minutes, when suddenly it disappeared, and she collapsed against the ground, exhausted, barely able to move.  
  
"Serenity!" Artemis exclaimed running over to her side, Luna right behind me.  
  
Her eyes fluttered open, but she was unable to raise her head from the ground. "I sent them.to Earth." She paused numerous times, trying to catch enough breath and energy to finish the simple sentences. "To earth.100.I mean 1,000 years into the future. I sent them all to a place called Tokyo, Japan. I pray that they will be happy there." She gasped. "And now.now it is time for goodbye between us."  
  
The two cats exchanged looks. "Serenity.I doubt that we will live any longer than you, we shall be together shortly." Luna said.  
  
The queen slowly shook her head. "I want.to ask.the permission of the.two of you."  
  
"The permission to do what? Serenity, you are the queen, you don't need any one's permission to do anything." Artemis said.  
  
She nodded. "This I do. I want to send the two of you to Earth along with them, just in case evil ever rises again."  
  
The two cats were speechless. "We will be reborn?" Artemis asked in surprise.  
  
"You will be reborn.but differently than the others. You two will.will have memories of.the silver millenium.of everyone's.lives.the way they were now.before.before Beryl came." Serenity managed to get out. "I want you to watch over them, to make sure they are allowed to live a normal.a normal life.but in case.god forbid.in case.evil ever finds.finds it's way there.and threatens.threatens the lives.of the people.the people on Earth.I am granting.granting you two.the power to.the power to."  
  
"The power to do what?" Luna pressed gently.  
  
She was silent for a few minutes, attempting to catch her breath. "The power.to give them their memories.of being a scout." She finished.  
  
The two exchanged looks once more, a silent conversation being spoken between them. "We give you our permission." Artemis said finally.  
  
She managed a faint smile. "I will miss.you two dearly." She struggled to a sitting position and repeated the motions that she had gone through before. It took longer this time, but eventually the two cats were encased in small crystal like balls and were floating before her. Using another bit of energy that she didn't realize she had, she made them fall asleep so the reincarnation could take place. As they drifted off to Earth she opened her eyes and watched them until they disappeared into the vast sky. Groaning in pain and exhaustion, she forced her weary body to gather its energy for the final time. She had just enough left to check that everyone had gotten to the Earth safely, and were waiting for their time to be reborn. One by one, each crystal floated by in her mind, Serenity, Endymion, Mars, Jeadite, Venus, Kunzite, Jupiter, Nephlite, Beryl, Mercury, and Zoisite. Her mind reeled for a minute in shock. Beryl?! What happened to Terra? Frantically she pushed herself around, and behind her, slightly hidden by the shadows of the trees, was the body of Princess Terra of Earth. "Oh God no!" She whispered. She had just sent the enemy to Earth, instead of the Princess. She thought back, her mind wondering how this could have happened. It was impossible, she knew she had thought about the princess! Her mind replayed her sending the children to the future, and stopped suddenly when she came to Princess Terra. She raised a hand to her mouth in horror. After each person was encased.and while she was sending them to Earth, she heard a small shattering noise, the sound that would have been made if one of the balls had somehow shattered. She had quickly counted them, and there was the right amount, so she shrugged it off to nothing. Now however.seeing the girl lie behind her, she realized that Beryl had used her power to switch places with the girl. She attempted to gather her energy, hoping that at the very least, she could still send Terra along with the others to the future. After a moment of strained effort, Serenity gave up. It was hopeless, she didn't have enough energy left, the crystal was killing her, just as Luna had said it would. She looked out towards Earth and said a silent prayer that the cats would be able to awaken them in time. And as she took her last breath, she spoke the words that would forever echo throughout the fallen kingdom. "May God have mercy on their souls."  
  
The fight had only just begun.  
  
* * *  
  
The book slowly closed. It was old and dusty, leather bound and thinly worn, but whether from love or age it was unknown. Either way, it was perhaps the most beloved possession any child could own. It was the story that made children believe that dreams, and fairy tales, and 'happily ever after' really could come true. It was the story that made a person of any age believe, and feel innocent and childlike again. Looks can be deceiving, and this book is perhaps the most deceiving of them all. Regardless of what it looks like, inside contains the story of a lifetime. It was a story of a Princess, who found her Prince, a story of never ending friendship, a story of protection, and defeat, but most importantly, it was a story of true love.  
  
~Two Together~  
  
~Through All The Years~  
  
~Echoes Of Laughter~  
  
~Ribbons Of Tears~  
  
The End  
  
From every ending, comes a new beginning...  
  
So yeah, that's it, the saga is over. It's weird to be writing these notes again, so long after I wrote the story for the first time. I hope that everyone enjoyed it, thanks for continuing, i know its an extremely long story, you guys make all the difference though. Thanks for the reviews and the emails, both times around. I'm not sure what's coming next. Before I start posting Ever Forever Ever, I want to post Courage Under Fire and I'll Be Seeing You, but I think that they need to be rewritten before they are ever posted again. ^_^ So we'll see what happens. I promise though that if EFE hasn't started to be posted of FF.Net by the time Chapter 5 comes out, I'll make some sort of announcement to let all of you who have been waiting know that it's done. So keep checking back here, or my website, i'll definitely be writing and updating something. Thanks for reading! 


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